Child in the front seat - how old can you ride under the new law? How to pay a fine for a "child seat" and not get it again.

An unhealthy trend has emerged in Russia when taxi drivers or directors of taxi companies are being prosecuted for transporting children without a seat. How so? After all, violation of the rules for transporting children under the age of 7 belongs to administrative legislation, which provides for a penalty in the form of a fine. It turns out that everything is not so simple when it comes to licensed transportation of passengers in a passenger taxi.

The worst thing is that there are already a lot of such criminal cases in the country. For example, a number of media outlets have repeatedly reported that in Russia they began to initiate criminal cases against taxi drivers who transport children without car seats.

Even in Moscow, the first criminal case has already been recorded against a taxi driver who transported a child without a seat.

Why is it that for the same offense in the field of road traffic, drivers are brought both to administrative responsibility and to criminal responsibility? After all, there is one offense, which means that the measure of responsibility should be the same. Well, the maximum fine can be different.

For example, there is a difference between fines issued to individuals and legal entities.

But when for the same violation of traffic rules they are brought to both administrative and criminal liability, it looks, at least, strange and not logical. Let's figure it out.

We have studied the judicial practice in similar cases. And I must admit, in fact, in a number of regions of Russia, criminal cases have already been opened more than once against taxi drivers who violated the rules for transporting children - for example, a child was driving in a car not in a child seat, as required by law.

And what is most interesting, all such cases ended in convictions. No, the guilty taxi drivers were not imprisoned and sent to teach the rules of the road to remote places. Most of them got off with heavy fines and naturally received unnecessary criminal convictions. And they were still very lucky (if I may say so), since they were prosecuted under Part 2 of Article 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, namely under item "b". Here is an excerpt from the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

• Article 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation Production, storage, transportation or sale of goods and products, performance of work or provision of services that do not meet safety requirements

Part 1. The production, storage or transportation for the purpose of marketing or marketing of goods and products, the performance of work or the provision of services that do not meet the requirements of the safety of life or health of consumers, as well as the illegal issuance or use of an official document certifying the compliance of the said goods, works or services with safety requirements, -

shall be punishable by a fine in the amount of up to 300,000 rubles, or in the amount of the wage or salary, or any other income of the convicted person for a period of up to 2 years, or compulsory labor for a term of up to 360 hours, or restraint of liberty for a term of up to 2 years, or compulsory labor for a term of up to 2 years, or imprisonment for the same period.

Part 2. The same acts if they:

a) committed by a group of persons in a preliminary conspiracy or by an organized group

b) committed in relation to goods, works or services intended for children under the age of 6

c) entailed, by negligence, the infliction of grievous bodily harm or the death of a person, -

are punished with a fine from 100,000 to 500,000 rubles or in the amount of wages or other income of the convicted person for a period from 1 to 3 years, or forced labor for up to 5 years, or imprisonment for up to 6 years with or without a fine of up to 500,000 rubles or in the amount of the convict's salary or other income for a period of up to 3 years.

That is, for the transportation of children under the age of 6 in a taxi without a special child seat, the taxi driver faces criminal liability under Article 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Moreover, the same responsibility can be extended to the director of a company that is engaged in licensed taxi transportation of passengers. And getting off with a fine is half the trouble.

Please note that in addition to liability in the form of a fine, there is a line in the article that indicates that the culprit can be prosecuted in the form of imprisonment for up to 6 years. We emphasized this measure of responsibility from an extract from Article 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Moreover, the judge will decide what punishment a taxi driver deserves, at his own discretion, guided, as they say, by the materials of the case.

Are you surprised? Can you imagine how shocked the taxi drivers who transporting children without a seat thought that the maximum they could face is an administrative fine under Article 12.23 of the Administrative Code, which provides for liability for transporting children without a seat in the form of a fine of 3,000 rubles.

Do you feel the difference between 3000 rubles and 6 years in prison ?!

You will say that no one has yet deprived anyone of their freedom for such offenses? After all, all taxi drivers prosecuted under Article 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation were simply fined.

Yes it is. But they got unnecessary criminal convictions. This, in any case, can now affect their future life. After all, now in all bases they will go as criminally convicted persons. This means that at least such people will have a damaged credit history - at least for a long time, at most forever.

Also, now these drivers will not be able to get a job in government agencies. In principle, they will not be accepted into any serious commercial organization either. But that's not the point.

When it comes to criminal liability, for violation of traffic rules, for which administrative responsibility is provided for individuals, it becomes uncomfortable. No, we do not, of course, protect those drivers who transported children without a child seat. But this does not mean that they deserve a criminal record and a large fine, which, by the way, for many may turn out to be an overwhelming burden.

Also, criminal prosecution of taxi drivers for transporting children without a seat does not guarantee that some judge who simply did not get enough sleep or came to work in a bad mood will not decide instead of a fine to impose a real punishment on the taxi driver in the form of imprisonment. After all, we live in a country with a not entirely perfect judicial system.

Our judges are still guided by internal convictions, and often do not listen to the arguments of witnesses and defense lawyers in favor of the accused. What can we talk about here. Of course, there is a risk that some irresponsible taxi driver will soon end up behind bars for transporting a child without a child car seat.

But it may be the father of this child, who, in his free time from work, decided to drive the child home from kindergarten or school in his taxi car, which has an official permit to carry a taxi. And then what? It turns out that instead of a fine of 3,000 rubles, the child's father may end up in prison?

Agree that all this is suggestive. Why did taxi drivers begin to be prosecuted? Here, of course, you need to ask a question to representatives of the State Traffic Inspectorate and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. After all, there were no such cases before. Why have such criminal cases started to appear recently? What, we didn’t have such an article in the Criminal Code before? Yes, no, it was. What then? What happened?

What is the difference between ordinary drivers who transport a child without a child seat and a taxi driver? After all, a taxi driver is the same person as everyone else, and is not a legal entity?

And the difference, it turns out, is if we correctly interpret our confusing and often incomprehensible legislation.

The whole difference is that if you are driving your own car, which does not have a license to carry passengers in a taxi (permit for taxi transport of passengers), then for transporting children without a child seat, you can only be held administratively liable under Article 12.23 of the Administrative Code R F, for which you will be fined 3000 rubles.

But if you transport a child without a child seat in a car that has a taxi license, and even more so as you transport a child as part of an indication of taxi services, then, of course, you run the risk of being prosecuted under part 2, paragraph "b" of Article 238 of the Criminal Code RF. If you are also an Individual Entrepreneur who has received a permit for taxi transportation to your car, and you work for yourself, then transporting a child under the age of 6 is likely to result in criminal liability for you.

The worst thing is that formally, this huge difference in responsibility between the administrative and criminal codes for the same violation of the law in the field of road safety is completely legal.

The only thing that raises questions is the actions of the traffic police and other law enforcement agencies, who previously did not prosecute drivers for such offenses. Now what has changed?

In general, all this is strange and again suggestive.

We repeat once again that we do not protect the "bomb", which really often violate the traffic rules (they often do this in order to have time to complete as many orders as possible during the shift), including not infrequently transporting small children without car seats.

But the fact that they are being prosecuted for transporting a child under 6 years old without a car seat seems too much to us.

Considering that most taxi drivers work for some taxi companies and other large offices, maybe it's just time to reconsider a little the measure of responsibility of organizations involved in licensed taxi transportation, and not blame the bombers for all their sins?

There are also questions to the aggregators of taxi services, which do not monitor their fleet and taxi drivers at all.

• For reference
• Let us remind you for those who have forgotten or for some reason do not know. It is strictly forbidden to transport children under the age of 7 not in a child seat in the car. Otherwise, an ordinary driver faces a fine of 3000 rubles (). The taxi driver faces a criminal case. Further, if you are lucky, then a large fine, and if you are not lucky - imprisonment.

My son and I went to see grandmother. The son is already 11 years old and putting him in a child seat, as well as using a triangle, is at least stupid. He just put on a regular seat belt. Literally a few meters later, we were stopped by a patrol, and a traffic police officer issued a fine for driving without a child seat.

When I began to be indignant that my child was tall and it was stupid to buy a child seat for him, the inspector threatened to deprive me of my rights.

As a result, I received a substantial fine and was forced to turn to the head of the inspection with a complaint. What came out of this, and what information I have today, I would like to tell in my note.

Changes in current legislation regarding fines for transporting children without a seat

First of all, it should be noted that the absence of a child seat has been considered an offense for several years now and is punishable by a fine of 3 thousand rubles. This rule is spelled out in Art. 12.23. Administrative Code of the Russian Federation. The latest changes on this issue were made back in 2017 and touched on the following points:

1. A ban was imposed on leaving children under the age of 7 in the car. Failure to comply with the rule will result in a fine of 2.5 thousand rubles for the capital region and 500 rubles for the regions.
2. Children aged 7-11 are allowed to be transported without a seat, but only in the back seat and wearing a seat belt.
3. Abolished all "other devices" used by drivers as a belt pad.
4. Children under 12 years old are not allowed to travel on motor vehicles.

In other cases, the traffic police rules of 2019 impose a fine of 3,000 rubles and a protocol is drawn up against the driver who violated the listed points.

When paying the accrued amount within 20 days from the date of the appointment of such a punishment, electronically, the citizen receives a discount of 50% of the amount of the fine. As a result, only 1,500 rubles will have to be paid.

How to choose the right seat for a child so as not to get a fine

When buying a child seat, many drivers are guided exclusively by the manufacturer, which is fundamentally wrong. In addition to this parameter, other characteristics should be taken into account, such as:

• what height and west the product is designed for;
• materials and fasteners used;
• what is the seat cover made of and how safe it is for the child.

It is important not only to avoid getting a fine for a child seat, but also to protect your baby as much as possible from injury and danger to his health. The choice of a suitable product should be carried out taking into account the following characteristics:

The points described should be taken into account when purchasing a suitable chair. This will make it possible to comfortably arrange the child during the trip.

How to behave if the inspector issues a fine

I have already noted that a fine for the absence of a child seat is issued by a traffic police officer, but the actions of a law enforcement representative are not always legitimate.

The reason for taking such a measure may be the lack of a special design, provided that the passenger is less than 12 years old, weighs up to 36 kg and has a height of 150 cm and below.

Requirements for the age and height of the child are imposed due to the fact that the driver or legal representative of the baby is not required to have documents confirming the age of the child. All physical characteristics, the inspector determines visually.

After the fine is written out, the citizen is given 70 days to pay it. The starting date is the day the protocol was drawn up. Such a fine is subject to the current discount of 50%, provided that the collection is paid within the first 20 days after this decision is made.

What circumstances contradict the action of the legislation

Sometimes, certain points of Russian legislation contradict real circumstances and the driver is not able to fulfill all the requirements. It is for this reason that the imposition of a fine for violation of this provision often causes dissatisfaction on the part of the population.

Situations can be as follows:

• it is difficult to transport children with health limitations, namely those with disabilities;
• the driver who has received a fine continues to move with the child without a seat;
• children with physical indicators exceeding the above parameters, namely, accelerated children, must also be transported in special chairs;
• older vehicles that do not have seat belts do not require a child seat.

All these points are controversial, and citizens often begin to sort things out, rather than pay a fine.

Conclusion

As a result, we can conclude that the transportation of children without a seat is not just a violation of the current traffic rules, but also the ability to protect the child from possible injuries if the car gets into an accident. In case of violation of such a requirement, a fine is imposed on the guilty person.

Do I have to use a special restraint when transporting children? Every car enthusiast needs to know the answer to this question.

Drivers transporting babies in their car must use special devices that have a restraining function. This obligation is enshrined in legislative acts, in case of its violation, liability is provided, which will be discussed below.

What does the law say?

The legislator introduced liability for the absence or technical malfunction of a child restraint in a car in 2007. The original amount of the fine was 500 rubles. Over the years, changes and amendments have been made that dealt with the liability in question.

The rules applied to regulate traffic on the roads state that a child under the age of 12 must be transported in a car seat, provided that the car has seat belts. The restraint device must fully correspond to the baby, namely, his height, weight category.

The document regulating the observance of the rules of behavior on the road is the Code of Administrative Violations (hereinafter referred to as the Code of Administrative Offenses) and the Rules of the Road. Part 3 of Article 12.23 of the Administrative Code prescribes the amount of punishment that is imposed for failure to comply with the rules for the carriage of small passengers. In September 2013, changes were made regarding the amount of the fine. Now the driver will have to pay 3 thousand for the transportation of the child, carried out not according to the rules. The tightening is due to the fact that the machine is a source of increased danger.

Innovations

In July 2017, the requirements regarding the transportation of minors came into force. The main changes affected the following points:

• a child who has not reached the age of 7 must be strictly in a special device. Babies of the indicated age should be carried exclusively in car seats, despite the fact that earlier in the traffic rules there was a term “other devices”;
• small passengers sitting in the back seat of the car can now be transported without a specialized seat if they are wearing a regular seat belt. These changes affected the age group 7-11 years old;
• children under 7 years old must not be left alone in the car;
• a child, regardless of age, must be seated in a car seat if transported in the front seat.

If one of these points is violated, the driver will be held administratively liable and will have to pay a fine equal to 3000 rubles.

Transportation of babies

A situation may arise that the baby is not in the car seat, despite the fact that it is in the car. That is, for example, his mother took him in her arms when he cried, wanted to eat, and so on. In the event that this fact is recorded by a traffic police inspector, you will have to pay a fine for an administrative offense. Its size will also be equal to 3000 rubles.

The parent's argument that the child was born premature or of low birth weight does not constitute grounds for exemption from punishment. In such situations, it is necessary to purchase an adapted infant car seat that has an almost horizontal position. They are also equipped with a special insert used to move newborns.

Important! According to the traffic rules, a special device designed to restrain a child is installed in the back seat of a car. According to statistics, the safest places for car seats are in the middle and behind the driver. When transporting an infant, the infant carrier can be secured in the front seat against the direction of travel, and it will be necessary to deactivate the frontal airbags.

If the baby is fastened incorrectly

The legislation sets out the rules for the placement of children of different age groups. With due observance, there will be no need to pay a fine. It turns out that motorists should be guided by the age of the child transported in the car:

• when a baby from 0 to 2 years old is transported in the front seat, he must be in a car seat facing against the traffic;
• children from 2 to 7 years old are transported in the back or front seats in a specially designed restraint device, which is selected in accordance with their height and weight;
• if a child has reached 7 years of age, then for the next five years he can be transported in the front seat only in a special seat, and in the back using ordinary seat belts;
• Children over 12 years of age can use the seat belts in the car.

If the child is not fastened in accordance with the specified rules, or is not fastened at all, then the traffic police inspector who stopped the vehicle will draw up a protocol on the fact of an administrative offense and issue a fine of 3,000 rubles. In the event that the punishment is imposed on an official, then its amount increases to 25,000 rubles. A legal entity will have to pay 100,000 in case of violation of this provision.

Summing up

If the driver was issued a fine for non-compliance with the rules for transporting children, then the simplest thing is to pay. At the same time, it must be remembered that payment must be received within 60 days after the decree, according to which the punishment is imposed, entered into force, which occurs after 10 days after the issuance. This period is reserved for those who wish to appeal the decision.

It is customary to consider ensuring the safety of their passengers as one of the key requirements for drivers.

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If adults can get by with regular seat belts, then in relation to children, special restraints must be used.

Starting out since 2007, the presence of such devices during the transportation of young children is a mandatory requirement, if ignored, a fine is imposed.

What is it

New rules for transporting young children include the mandatory use of car seats. Thanks to such restraints, it is possible to firmly restrain children during the trip and thereby significantly reduce the likelihood of injury to them in emergency situations on the road.

At the same time, not all devices are suitable for transportation.

Often there are situations in which traffic police inspectors decide to issue a fine even when using a standard car seat.

To be able to avoid punishment and achieve the maximum level of child safety, you need to adhere to the following rules:

• the chair is selected in accordance with the height of the child;
• the device must securely fix the baby;
• purchase only a high-quality car seat;
• when fixing the car seat against the movement, the airbag is necessarily deactivated.

Thanks to simple rules, it is fashionable to eliminate the likelihood of various misunderstandings and ensure the safety of the child.

What is regulated

1. In case of ignoring the rules for the transportation of young children, drivers are brought to administrative responsibility on the basis of.
2. The norms regulate the procedure for transporting young children in any type of vehicle.
3. It is recommended that you familiarize yourself with it, as it reflects the features of transporting children in the back seat of the vehicle.

Seat requirement

A car seat is a specialized device whose main purpose is to transport small children.

At the same time, the main task is to ensure the safety of the child when there is a various road traffic accident, in particular when using emergency braking.

The presence of a special device is considered a key requirement of Russian legislation. In accordance with, children before reaching 12 year old age can be in the vehicle only if there is a restraint device with additional fastening seat belts.

The device must be suitable for the specific height of the child. If the maximum limits are reached, it is allowed to use only regular seat belts.

Video: news

From what age can children be transported without a child seat

In accordance with the norms of Russian legislation, the parents of the child or other persons who act as a driver must use car seats until the child reaches 12 years of age.

In the event that a young passenger has already reached this age, but at the same time his body weight is less 36 kg, and growth does not exceed the mark in 150 centimeters, then in this case it must be transported in a chair.

Additionally, it is important to use specially designed so-called pads for the convenience of the child.

Aged from seven years old to 12, the Russian legislation allows the possibility to use special pads on the seat belts instead of the seat.

This only applies to young children aged after 7 years that ride in the back seat. However, this only applies to carriage in the back seat.

However, there are several cases when a child is less than 12 years old, and he can be in a vehicle without a seat:

• if the child's height exceeds 150 cm.
• if the weight of the child exceeds the mark in 36 kilograms, it just won't fit in a chair. In this case, use a booster or seat belts.

Knowing about these features, you can exclude the likelihood of various misunderstandings.

Does height matter

According to the established rules of Russian legislation, the growth of a young child plays a significant role.

In particular, the legislation of the Russian Federation allows the transportation of children without a special car seat if their height exceeds 150 centimeters... In this case, the weight should not be lower 36 kilograms.

Otherwise, it becomes necessary to use additional devices.

For your information: allowed height, provided for by the norms of the legislation of the Russian Federation for travel without a chair - 150 centimeters.

How to use it correctly

Speaking of how old you can carry a child without a child seat - from 12 years old, but at the same time there are exceptions that have been considered, otherwise it is impossible to do without it.

Using a car seat is quite simple, for this you need to follow simple rules:

• carefully study the instructions that come with the device. Especially true for backless chairs;
• Move the front seat as far as possible so that it does not interfere with the installation of the child seat;
• it is necessary to install a child seat, and tighten the belts as tight as possible at the designated points. Secure the structure with additional clamps that are included in the kit;
• make sure the shoulder strap is fastened correctly and tightly enough;
• adjust the height for the standard belt, it will ensure safety in the event of an accident;
• check how well the chair is fixed, for this you need to move it. Allowable movement in different directions - no more 1 centimeter;
• it is important to make sure everything is set up correctly. For this young child, it will be enough to sit in a chair and fasten all the belts.
  

  There should be no more distance between the child's torso and the belts 1 - 2 centimeters.

Before you start driving the car, you must check the seat is secure. Additionally, it is recommended to pay attention to the belts. The child should feel comfortable in the chair, but not dangle too much.

A responsibility

The Code of Administrative Offenses provides for the possibility of bringing to administrative responsibility in the event of:

• ignoring the rules for using a car seat;
• if installed incorrectly.

This year, the amount of the administrative penalty is 3 thousand rubles.

For your information: previously, the administrative fine was only 500 rubles.

How inspectors check for seating

In this case, everything is quite simple - with the help of a visual inspection through the glass of the transport glass. If they are tinted, the inspector may ask them to be omitted.

But the situation familiar to many drivers with the unauthorized opening of the door by an inspector to check the rules for transporting children is illegal.

A police officer can do this only in the presence of invited attesting witnesses or with the help of video recording, having previously drawn up a search protocol.

If the driver does not violate anything, it is recommended to fulfill the requirements of the traffic police to open the door or lower the glass.

In one of our articles, we have already written that, firstly, it is not worth transporting passengers in violation of the accepted traffic rules, and secondly, this violation is fraught with punishment in the form of a fine. More details about this can be found in the article "Penalty for the carriage of passengers in a cargo van, an extra passenger". So the children we carry in our cars are passengers. Nevertheless, as usual, we pay more attention and care to children, and even thinking about an accident associated with it is generally scary. In this article, we wanted to talk about what kind of fine the driver faces for transporting children in violation of the established traffic rules.

Traffic rules prescribe the carriage of children in a child seat

So, before you make a verdict on a fine, you need to know for what offense it threatens you. Let's turn to traffic rules. We are interested in article 22.9 of the SDA, which can be divided into two parts, since they talk about the age limit for a child. First, these are children under 7 years old:

That is, if you are transporting a child under 7 years old, then the presence of child restraints is MANDATORY !!!

Continuing to study all the same paragraph 22.9, we read further:

Everything that we have written above can be presented in a visual form. Like this!

Note that if this is a front seat, then only a restraint device, that is, a child seat or something similar, can be applied. In the back seat, the child can be either in the chair or fastened with a regular seat belt, or with the help of restraint systems that will ensure the safety of the child during his transportation. What such restraints are, for the majority this will remain somewhat unresolved, according to their assumptions and preferences, which have not yet acquired "clear forms" in the law.
Maybe it's a pillow under the child, or maybe something that pulls the straps so that they are slightly lower, or something else. … There is no precise description or standard in the law.

In fact, the law does not prescribe any clearly specialized restraints by the standard, by which are meant child seats or other means. There are no references either to the document according to which they should be made, or to the conditions that it should be a child seat at all. Such a circumstance of things is not very pleasing to a reasonable driver, since, first of all, he should be concerned about the safety of the children being transported, which will be guaranteed as much as possible through a clearly regulated choice of successfully tested restraints and child seats. However, this is precisely what made it possible for manufacturers and drivers to use these very "substitutes for child seats."
We will not talk about the degree of responsibility and the choice of restraints in this article, so that the reader does not get confused in the head, since this is a separate topic. More details can be found in the article "Choosing a child seat". In fact, this is a question between the balance of responsibility and material costs. How to act in this situation, everyone decides for himself.

Rules for the carriage of children from 2017

In July 2017, the last important update of the law on the transport of children took place (Resolution No. 761 of 28.07.17). According to these rules, the information was provided in our article.
The most important thing to learn from the law is that children from 7 to 11 years old can wear regular seat belts in the back seat. In all other cases, children must be transported using special restraints (up to 7 years old or front seat).

Now we wanted to focus on what threatens the driver if he transports children without restraints, that is, without a seat or if the child is not fastened.

Penalty for transporting children without a child seat (devices) or if the child is not fastened (article 12.23 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation, part 3)

For children and adults, the same article applies, but different parts in it. Namely, article 12.23 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. Part 2 prescribes punishment for the carriage of adult passengers, here you can get off with a minimum fine, about this in the article "Penalty for violating the rules of carriage of passengers". But for children there is already part 3, which says:

That is, for improper transportation of a child under 12 years old, they can take a fine of 3,000 rubles, and this is a much more serious fine than for an adult passenger.

Is it possible to pay a fine for transporting children without a discounted seat

Since 2016, motorists have a great opportunity to save a little on fines. These fines should not apply to articles related to alcohol and drug intoxication, as well as cases with significant speeding and relapses in relation to breaking the solid line of the lane. That is, as you understand, a fine for a child seat can be paid at a discount. It is important here that the fine is paid on time. This certain period will be the date from the beginning of the appearance of the fine in the traffic police database, but no later than 20 days from the date of the decision.

Question and answer on the topic "Penalty for transporting children without a child seat"

Question: Is it possible to transport a child only wearing regular seat belts?
Answer: Yes, if the child is 7 years old and sits in the back seat.

Question: Can FEST be used to transport children in the front seat?
Answer: You can (2020), there are no restrictions on this type of restraint.

Question: What is the fine for a child seat or if the child is not fastened?
Answer: 3000 rubles.