Prosecution for Driving Vehicles while Intoxicated in Ukraine: Legal Regulation, Administrative, Criminal and Civil Aspects
Author(s): Khrystofor Yarmaki*, Maksym Kryvonos, Hanna Konarieva, Vasyl Bontlab and Volodymyr Keidaliuk
Abstract
Background: The article highlights prosecution for offenses related to driving while intoxicated (legal regulation, administrative, criminal and civil aspects).
Methods: The following methods of scientific cognition were used in the article: Abstract-logical, analysis, synthesis, historical, comparison, induction, deduction, generalization, modeling in order to determine the methodological support for researching the theoretical and practical bases of foreign experience of responsibility for driving vehicles in condition of alcohol intoxication (international standards, administrative and criminal aspect).
Results: Alcohol inebriation or alcohol intoxication is a type of intoxication caused by the psychoactive effect of ethanol. Alcohol intoxication causes changes in person’s psychological, physiological and behavioral functions. With a light degree of intoxication, behavioral manifestations may be absent, but, for example, the ability to drive a vehicle may decrease (due to attention wandering, slow response). More severe stages of alcohol intoxication are usually accompanied with a loss of real assessment of the situation and the role of one’s own personality, disorders of speech, attention, memory and disordered coordination of movements.
Statistical data and analysis of administrative and judicial practice show that application of administrative sanctions in the form of a fine or deprivation of the right to drive for offenses related to driving a vehicle while intoxicated do not always seem to be sufficient to implement general and special prevention this type of violation of traffic rules and more severe types of administrative sanctions for repeated violations (within a year) due to a number of objective reasons are extremely rarely applied by the courts. As a result, against the background of these determinants, there is a steady trend of a significant percentage of repetition of homogeneous torts (up to 13% of the total number of mis-demeanors provided for in parts 1, 3 of Article 130 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses.
Conclusion: Thus, statistical data give grounds for asserting that application of administrative sanctions in the form of a fine or deprivation of the right to drive for offenses related to driving a vehicle while intoxicated do not always seem to be sufficient to carry out general and special prevention of this types of violations of traffic rules, and more severe types of administrative sanctions for repeated violations (within a year) due to a number of objective reasons are extremely rarely applied by the courts.
The factor of the driver (the person driving the vehicle) being in a state of alcoholic, narcotic or other intoxication or under the influence of medicines that reduce their attention and reaction rate can negatively affect the quality characteristics of all other factors that significantly affect road traffic security on the part of such persons including: Reducing attention and vigilance of the driver, increasing the response time to changes in the road environment, changing the psycho-emotional state of the driver and leveling the sense of internal responsibility, etc.
Actions (activities) of a person under the influence of alcohol or narcotic substances (in a state of habitual intoxication) simultaneously reduces the level of subjective awareness of the risk and increases the risk of the objective occurrence of negative consequences ?. It has been established that, on average, the risk of traffic accidents begins to increase exponentially at the level of blood alcohol content from 0.04 g/dL. Also, the use of alcohol or narcotic substances, in addition to increasing the risk of committing traffic accidents (in the case of driving a vehicle while intoxicated), also increases person’s vulnerability to injuries, as well as severity of such injuries (up to life-threatening ones) during any accidents.