Preventive measures turning into highhandedness

Road Safety Month ended on Feb. 10. During the campaign to boost preventive measures aimed at improving safety on our roads, which was the subject of several critical reports in The Day, traffic policemen confiscated over 30,000 driver’s licenses, recorded almost 800,000 traffic infractions and 30,000 instances of drunk driving. These are official data, while some human rights advocates told us about the seamier side of these unprecedented “measures.”

“In Kyiv alone, traffic policemen confiscated licenses from about 700 drivers, most of whom were unreasonably barred from earning a living for a long time by a court order. One-half of the drivers who had their licenses seized for drunk driving were not even given a breathalizer. My friends told me about instances when traffic policemen saw a car parked next to a building where a party was in full swing, called the owner under the pretext that there was ‘something wrong’ with the car, and drew up a report alleging that he had been driving under the influence,” said Valentyn Khaletsky, head of the Civic Council of Ukraine.

According to Khaletsky, the Traffic Police Department’s decision to carry out the road safety campaign was unlawful because it was not registered at the Ministry of Justice. He said that motorists often have their licenses seized for minor infractions, when they could in fact be fined or cautioned.

“In my opinion, traffic policemen began incorrectly assuming that an infraction could have led to an accident. They did it either in pursuit of an impressive clear-up rate or in the hopes of receiving a handsome reward, because the Administrative Code says that such an infraction carries not only a fine but also confiscation of the driver’s license for 6 to 12 months,” Khaletsky added.

Lawyer Serhii Avdiev says that, under the Administrative Code, when a potential accident situation occurs on the road, there should be an injured party and witnesses whose testimony the traffic policeman must include in his report. But if there is no injured party, nobody has the right to seize the license: the harshest punishment can be a fine, moreover, on condition that the infraction has been proved in court. Many drivers are not aware of this and immediately try to bribe their way out.

Vasyl Hiltiaev, the driver of a Kyiv express minibus, told The Day that a court seized his driving license for six months only because he made an unauthorized but unavoidable turn.

“I was driving along my fixed route from the Lybidska to the Shuliavska subway station. A bus suddenly stopped at the traffic lights, and I couldn’t turn right without passing it. Then an officer flags me down and says that I created a potential accident situation. He took me to his car, where he and another officer checked all my papers. Then they confiscated my license without explaining what I had done wrong. It didn’t take the judges long to handle the case, and now I am barred from driving for six months,” he said.

Naturally, Hiltiaev is going to refer the case to the Court of Appeal. But to do this he has to hire a lawyer and pay him for submitting a complaint in compliance with all juridical standards and making multiple visits to the courthouse. On top of it, it is unlikely that the higher court will override the lower court’s ruling.

Human rights activists recommend that if you are apprehended by traffic policemen, you should make sure they write up an administrative detention report. A driver who has broken traffic rules should file a request to the judge that his case be heard only in his presence, and that the hearing be adjourned until the defendant can read all the documents, prepare proof of his innocence, and consult with a lawyer.

“I would recommend always having a voice recorder handy in order to record the exchange between the policeman and the driver. Naturally, recordings are not considered evidence in court, but the driver can refer it to a human rights organization, which will help him defend his rights,” Khaletsky pointed out.

Protesting the witch-hunt against drivers, the Civic Council of Ukraine has drafted a petition urging President Yushchenko, the government, the Verkhovna Rada, the public, and all political parties to put an end to the highhandedness of traffic officers. Human rights activists are also calling on all motorists to join the nationwide SOS-DAI campaign at noon on Feb. 10, by coming to a full stop for a minute and turning on their emergency flashers.