How to challenge a traffic police fine?
Drivers on the roads are often fined for something they did not do. Shrewd and often mercenary inspectors can easily “stick” you with a protocol for allegedly crossing two solid lines, driving at a red light or failure to yield the right of way to a pedestrian. But instead of contesting the fines, the drivers silently agree and pay. Or to the inspector, or to the budget. All this from insecurity or, worse, from ignorance of the rights.
We in Pravovod.RU decided to eliminate this gap and tell the readers how and where to appeal a fine GIBDD. The algorithm for those who are accused unreasonably!
How much time do I have?
Any decision to bring a citizen to administrative responsibility, regardless of who issued it, may be appealed within 10 days from the date of delivery or receipt of a copy of the decision (Part 1 of Art. 30.3 of the Administrative Code). Depending on the type of violation the moment of beginning of this term will be different.
For example, for minor violations, the inspector has the right to issue a ruling and impose an administrative penalty “on the spot”. In this case, the decision is served to the driver immediately (Article 28.6 of the CAO), and the deadline for appeal begins to run. At more gross violations (for instance, driving on the wrong side of the road) the punishment is imposed by the so-called “group of sorting” the place and time of which the driver shall be informed additionally. If you will be there – the decree will be handed over to you there, if not – sent by post. In any case, the deadline for appeal begins to run only after you receive a copy of the resolution in your hands.
The same applies to cases where the consideration of administrative cases is within the competence of the court. From the date of receipt of the decision the driver has 10 days.
And if the 10-day period is missed?
How to appeal a traffic police fine, if the 10-day period is missed? In case of expiration of 10 days, the term for appealing the decision may be restored by the person, who is authorized to consider the complaint (part 2 of article 30.3 of the Administrative Offences Code). In practice, the deadline for appeal is restored if it is missed for objective and valid reasons, but the CAO does not establish a specific list of such circumstances. Among such reasons that will “work”, for example:
- Sudden serious illness aggravated during the period of appeal;
- Sending a resolution to the wrong address;
- Non-compliance by the “Russian Post” with the order of delivery of correspondence;
- receipt of the ruling with a delay;
- Failure to receive a resolution due to absence from the place of residence, for example, due to a business trip or vacation
- Mistaken direction of the complaint “to the wrong place” and any other objective reason.
Where to complain?
It all depends on who made the decision. If it is the State Automobile Inspection Service official (MADI, AIPP), the complaint can be filed (part 1 of article 30.2 of the Administrative Offences Code):
- To a higher official, for example, to the head of the division of the traffic police or
- to the district court located in the area where the decision was made.
The addressee for filing a complaint is determined by the driver himself. If he appeals to the head of the unit, his decision can be appealed again later, but now only in the district court. Here is an example, when the driver managed to get the missed deadline restored only in court – the decision of Bologovsky city court № 12-30/2016 from 16.03.2016.
If a fine or other penalty is imposed on a driver by a court, it can only be appealed to a higher court. For example, a complaint is filed to the city or regional court against the rulings issued by the district court.
What if I complain to the wrong court?
You do not have to worry! If consideration of the appeal does not refer to the competence of the official or judge, within 3 days the documents have to be re-directed to the proper jurisdiction (part 4 of article 30.2 of the Code of Administrative Offences). If during the time of forwarding documents the deadline for appeal expires, these circumstances may be the basis for its restoration (Decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation № 41-AD16-18 of 08.12.2016).
Is it possible to file a complaint via the Internet?
Actually, you can. But the corresponding functionality for electronic appeals is only on the website of the traffic police. Filing procedural documents to the courts also exists, but causes certain difficulties, in connection with which we recommend filing only written complaints. And you should also remember that this way of filing a complaint does not provide an opportunity to document the fact of filing and compliance with the deadline for appeal. Therefore, in any case, we recommend filing only “the old-fashioned way”.
And also the opportunity to appeal the penalty of traffic police through Gosuslugi is about to appear. How the “superservice” will work – without personal visits and paper documents, it is told here. It is expected that the service will be fully operational in April-May 2020, but it may be delayed until 2021.
Grounds for appealing a traffic police fine
The Code does not provide the specific reasons, according to which the official or the court should cancel the decree. According to the article 30.7 of the Administrative Offences Code, the grounds for cancellation of the court decision may be:
- Low significance of the violation (Article 2.9 of the CAO);
- identification of circumstances that exclude proceedings on the case, for example, extreme necessity or lack of corpus delicti, event of an offense (Article 24.5 of the CAO);
- a substantial violation of procedural requirements when drawing up an offence or issuing a ruling;
- issuance of a ruling by an unauthorized official, judge.
The above grounds are generalized, it is necessary to identify their presence in relation to a specific situation and a specific imputed violation.
Here is an example of how to appeal a traffic police fine from a camera, if the car was sold, and the fined person was not behind the wheel – the decision of the Right Bank District Court of Lipetsk № 12-15/2019 from 05.02.2019. And here is an example of a successful appeal, if the employees of the Automated Recording Center misclassified the actions of the driver, attributing him a nonexistent violation – the decision of the Supreme Court of Kabardino-Balkaria № 21-67/2017 from 30.08.2017. And it is also possible to appeal a fine from cameras for the reason:
- finding the vehicle at the time of the violation in the possession or use of another person;
- unreadability of the license plate, its incorrect deciphering by traffic police officers;
- discovery of a “look-alike car” in the photo;
- Absence of a pay parking sign in the driver’s sight, etc.
And how to appeal a traffic police fine for speeding? Similarly – you need to look for violations of the norms of material law committed by the inspector. The reason for cancellation will serve:
- The use by inspectors of uncertified speed cameras that have not passed the verification in time;
- Exceeding the speed limit, which the car was physically unable to reach;
- The camera captures the license plate of the neighboring vehicle;
- incorrect operation of the camera, as was the case, for example, in Vologda in 2017;
- technical error of the means of automated fixation.
What if there are procedural violations? The protocol was drawn up without indicating the time and place of the violation, without the signature of the inspector or witnesses (if they were supposed to be there)? Was the decision sent to you much later than it should have been? The term of bringing to administrative responsibility was missed? All this will also be a reason to satisfy your complaint!
Now consider how to file it.
How to appeal a traffic police fine: step by step
So, you received a ruling and consider it illegal? Will we appeal it? Then follow our algorithm.
Step 1. Making a complaint
Draw up a complaint itself is not difficult. The CAO does not regulate its mandatory details, but in practice it will have to contain:
- The name of the court, an official authorized to consider the complaint;
- Full name, address, telephone number of the complainant;
- name of the body (court) that issued the ruling, its details;
- Sanction applied to the complainant;
- circumstances with which the driver does not agree;
- norms of law, which were violated by the ruling;
- list of attached documents;
- date of filing and signature of the complainant.
Be sure to attach documents to the complaint, justifying the need to cancel the ruling. This may include photos, video recordings.
Step 2. Filing a complaint
We recommend to complain personally to the competent body (traffic police, court) or send by registered mail with acknowledgement of receipt. If the complaint is accepted, you will be additionally informed about the time and place of its consideration.
Step 3.
Come to the head of the unit or to the hearing, support the claims, bring additional evidence, give explanations. You do not need to come personally, you can send a representative or ask for a hearing in your absence.
Step 4: Waiting for the decision.
Term of consideration – 10 days in the traffic police and 2 months in court. According to the results of the review, the body makes a decision on:
- leaving the complaint without satisfaction;
- change of the decision and mitigation of the penalty;
- Cancellation of the resolution and termination of the proceedings;
- Cancellation of the decision and return the case for a new consideration.
The determination about the decision is sent to the driver within 3 days from the moment it is made.
Step 5. Appealing the decision
If you are not satisfied with the results of the appeal, you may always appeal to a court or a higher court, if the appealed ruling was issued by a district court.
How much does it cost to appeal a fine?
Not much! The thing is that the complaint to the decision on the case on an administrative offence the state duty is not imposed (part 5 of Art. 30.2 of the Administrative Offences Code). But it’s only if you do everything yourself – to make a complaint. To look for the grounds for cancellation, personally send a complaint, go to the courts on your own, etc. If you involve lawyers for this purpose, the minimum “price tag” will be 5 thousand rubles. It’s cheaper to pay the fine!
Is it possible to appeal the paid penalty of the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate?
Of course! The fact of payment does not cancel illegality and unreasonableness of the rendered decision. But in this case, after a positive decision in your favor, the paid fine can be returned as such, as it was paid by mistake. The details of this procedure can be found on the website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Can you appeal a traffic police fine?
Government agencies do not always perform their duties flawlessly. In the imposition of fines on the driver can also make mistakes. The fault for this may be a malfunction in the system or the human factor. But in any case, it is necessary to know how to appeal against a fine of the traffic police. After all, the penalty can severely affect the pocket. If it is unfair, it will be doubly offensive.
Period of appeal of fines of the traffic police
The law grants 10 days for the appeal of a traffic police fine from the date of receipt of the decision. If it is written out by the inspector, who stopped you personally, the term is counted from this moment. And when the violation is fixed by the camera, you receive a letter. In this case, the countdown of days starts from the moment of its delivery. It is useless to appeal against the fact that you have not received the letter personally.
Important! Litigation can drag on for a long time. And the traffic police are often not informed about the fact that an appeal has been filed. After 60 days, the unpaid debt may be sent to the bailiff service. Therefore, inform the traffic police in advance that the fine is being challenged.
In order not to miss the deadline for appeal, periodically check the availability of fines on your own. This is easy to do on the official portal to check and pay fines Paygibdd. And if you’re going on a long trip or business trip, be sure to download our official app on your smartphone. That way you’ll be able to get alerts on time, no matter where you are.
Who has the right to appeal a traffic police fine
Article 30 of the Code of Administrative Offences states that the right to appeal is granted directly to the citizen in whose name the decision was issued. When it is impossible (due to illness or departure), the rights can be asserted by the notarized representative.
It may happen that it is not the owner who is driving the car. In this case, if the violation is fixed by the camera, the penalty comes to the owner of the vehicle. And it is he who will have to file an appeal.
What fines can be appealed
It is possible to challenge any fine if you do not agree with it:
- Issued by an employee of the traffic police;
- received from a video camera;
- A fine from a traffic camera for driving without MTPL.
- Failure to pay a fine twice;
- Fines for improper parking from the MADI;
- Fines for unpaid parking from the MADI.
Where to complain
The place of appeal depends on who issued the order and where it was issued. Consider the various options.
Road police fines
If the decision was written out personally by the inspector who stopped you, the complaint is submitted to the division of the traffic police, to which it belongs. Write an application either directly to the inspector, or to the head of the department. In addition, attach a copy of the decision and copies of all documents for the car. In the complaint explain why you do not agree.
If the violation is fixed by the camera
There are two options here:
- Appeal through the traffic police department, by letter to the chief, as described above.
- Send a complaint to the Center for Automated Registration of Violations.
Practice shows that the first option is more effective. The second is better to use if you have a complaint about the work of the cameras or the place and manner of their installation.
Double payment of a fine
It happens that by mistake, a person pays the same fine twice. In this case, the overpayment can be returned if you apply to the division of the traffic police with a written statement. It can be sent by registered mail or personally take it to the traffic police.
Penalty from a video camera for driving without MTPL insurance
The experiment of tracking cars without MTPL with the help of traffic cameras continues in some regions. Soon the system will be fully operational. However, it is still difficult to call it perfect.
If you receive such a fine, and your policy is issued as it should be, you can solve the problem in two ways. You can write an appeal to the insurance company where you issued your MTPL policy. Or call RAMI directly (Federal Hotline: 8-800-200-22-75). Employees of the insurance company or RAMI should check the information in the database, eliminate inaccurate information and cancel the penalties.
Fines for Improper Parking
The Moscow Administrative Road Inspectorate (MADI) is in charge of such violations. You can appeal its decisions on the website mos.ru or on the “Avtokod” portal. There are sections with an appeal form, which must be filled out and the necessary documents attached. You can go directly to the MADI with a personal visit.
Fines for unpaid parking
Here we proceed in the same way as in the case of contesting the ruling in the MADI, only you need to write an application to the AMPP organization (for Moscow). If you live in other cities, send the complaint to the local branch in charge of the paid parking space organization.
The complaint was rejected: what to do
Sometimes the department, where the appeal application was sent to, does not agree with the complainant. In any case the organization will have to give you a written answer within 10 days. If the appeal is denied, there will be an explanation on what basis this happened.
If you do not agree with the decision, you can go to court. The court may take up to two months to review your case. It is necessary to notify the traffic police or other organization, from which the fine came. Otherwise, if the dispute will last long, the term of payment of the fine will expire. Then the case is transferred to the bailiffs, and they are not obliged to recheck the information. As a result, you will have to solve additional problems.
You can go to court immediately bypassing the first stage of appeal. This is what many drivers do. But it is not quite right. After all, in the first stage to solve the problem can be for the allotted legal 10 days, and the court decision may take several months. Therefore, it is better to start with a complaint to the organization that issued the decree on the collection of a fine.
Paygibdd online service
The Paygibdd portal was created to make checking and paying traffic police fines as easy as possible. We care about our customers and are always ready to help. If you have a disputable situation, please contact our support service. To do this, send an email to support@paygibdd.ru. Our specialists will give you detailed advice on how to contest a traffic police fine, help you to gather the necessary documentation and draw up an application correctly. Also, on our site you can check the availability of traffic police fines at any time and pay in time. Unlike many online services, we will find and show you ALL the available fines, because we take information from the database of the RF State Traffic Police.
