Publications

Turn signal fines: what American car owners need to know

ANALYSIS FROM

The police have begun to do the same old thing – they have started fining owners of American license plates for red lights on cars made in the United States. Drivers risk a fine of UAH 425 for the first offense, and UAH 1,700 for the second offense. Although, according to lawyers, these fines are easily canceled in courts. But the driver himself can also avoid administrative liability, as we found out [Kommersant].

Police activity in issuing fines for driving cars with red turn signals began about five years ago, when more cars imported from overseas appeared on the country’s roads. The reason is that American standards do not meet Ukrainian safety standards, which state that vehicles must be equipped with yellow turn signals.

The police refer to paragraph 6.1.5 of the National Standard of Ukraine “Wheeled Vehicles. Technical Condition Safety Requirements and Control Methods” DSTU 3649:2010, which stipulates requirements for the color of turn signals, in particular, that the front and rear ones must be yellow, and which has been in force since 2017. And according to part 2 of Art. 122 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, the use of warning signals and their re-equipment in violation of the requirements of the relevant standards is punishable by a fine of UAH 425 (25 tax-free minimums). Thus, the police have made it a practice to stop cars with red turn signals and fine them.

But, as lawyers point out, the police do not take into account the fact that the imported cars have been state registered and have been tested for compliance with all rules and standards. And all imported vehicles must obtain a certificate of conformity before registration, lawyers say. That’s why courts often side with car owners.

“If a car is certified in Ukraine for use in Ukraine, it means that it meets the standards. If it meets the standards, then there should be no complaints, and any police fine for a turn signal of a color that does not comply with the DSTU was canceled by the courts,” says [Kommersant] lawyer Andriy Varenyk.

The main reason is that the police have no evidence that anything went wrong during the certification of the imported car. That in the photo in the document the lights glow yellow, but in reality they glow red. This would be the basis for a fine. According to the lawyer, our car certification is not done without the help of Photoshop and magic, for example, the correct headlights are put in before certification, and then the original ones are inserted again. Sleight of hand. And then everything is at the discretion of the owner: someone puts on the right yellow ones, and someone continues to drive with red ones. Although this causes inconvenience to other road users and can easily lead to an accident.

As Vadym Volodarsky emphasizes, the practice of appealing such fines in courts is extensive, and the courts always take into account that the car is registered by state authorities, so there should be no claims from the police to the owner.

“The police do not give fines for red turn signals in large numbers. I would even say that if there is nothing else to find fault with, the police can issue a ticket for the headlights. At the same time, the police do not draw up reports on the technical condition of cars, nor do they spend time proving that the car has been re-equipped since the start of its operation. That is why administrative protocols are canceled in courts,” comments [Kommersant] Vadim Volodarsky comments.

But there is one important point: Ukraine has signed the Geneva Convention and ratified its effect throughout Ukraine. And according to UNECE Regulation 48-02, the use of red rear direction indicators is allowed. So, motorists have another trump card.

Author – Alla Dunina

Читайте нас у Telegram: головні новини коротко