What is the fine for an unreadable state number of a car. Unreadable numbers (state signs)

Often there are situations when they want to hold you accountable for "unreadable" numbers.
However, an unpleasant situation can be avoided if you understand and understand the meaning of the alleged violation. This article is devoted to this issue.

SDA (List of malfunctions and conditions under which the operation of vehicles is prohibited):

7.15. The state registration plate of the vehicle or the method of its installation does not comply with GOST R 50577-93.

Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation:

Article 12.2. Driving a vehicle in violation of the rules for installing state license plates on it

1. Driving a vehicle with unreadable, non-standard or state registration plates installed in violation of the requirements of the state standard, except for the cases provided for by part 2 of this article, -

shall entail a warning or the imposition of an administrative fine in the amount of five hundred roubles.

(as amended by Federal Laws No. 116-FZ of 22.06.2007, No. 175-FZ of 23.07.2010)

2. Driving a vehicle without state registration plates, as well as driving a vehicle without state registration plates installed in the places provided for this, or driving a vehicle with state registration plates equipped with materials that prevent or hinder their identification, -

shall entail the imposition of an administrative fine in the amount of five thousand rubles or deprivation of the right to drive transport vehicles for a term of one to three months.

(as amended by Federal Laws No. 120-FZ of 22.07.2005, No. 116-FZ of 22.06.2007, No. 210-FZ of 24.07.2007)

3. Installation on a vehicle of deliberately false state registration plates -

shall entail the imposition of an administrative fine on citizens in the amount of two thousand five hundred roubles; for officials responsible for the operation of vehicles - from fifteen thousand to twenty thousand rubles; for legal entities - from four hundred thousand to five hundred thousand roubles.

4. Driving a vehicle with obviously forged state registration plates -

entails deprivation of the right to drive vehicles for a period of six months to one year.

Note. The state registration plate is recognized as non-standard if it does not meet the requirements established in accordance with the legislation on technical regulation, and unreadable if at a distance of 20 meters it is not possible to read at least one of the letters or numbers of the rear state registration plate in the dark, and in daylight hours of at least one of the letters or numbers of the front or rear state registration sign.

1. It is necessary to initially understand and remember that behind any legal concept found in regulatory documents, as a rule, there is its interpretation, definition. The phrase should not be taken literally. You will not be able to understand correctly otherwise than from legal sources.
For example, the concept of "obstacle". Suppose you did not want to refer to the rules, and figured out what it is. You are asked by the judge or someone else: is the obstacle a brick lying on the road or part of a concrete block? Certainly, you think. But only by referring to the rules can we understand what an obstacle is: obstacle - a fixed object in a traffic lane that does not allow to continue driving along this lane. That is, brick and pillar and concrete block and everything else can not to be an obstacle and is not recognized as such, if you can continue in this lane.
In this regard, before agreeing to any legal concept, find out its meaning in legal literature.
2. If an inspector stopped you and says that you have unreadable, dirty, dirty, etc. license plates (the so-called "number"), then you must evaluate the correctness of the imputation of the article. Here you need to proceed from the following:
a) if no devices are installed on the numbers ("nets", gratings, curtains, glass, etc.), then your actions are not an offense under Art. 12.2, clause 2 (in general, 4 clauses of Article 12.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation are used for numbers).
Let's digress. Remember that if the cameras cannot identify you because you have unreadable numbers, then for this violation you will be fined the same amount as the maximum fine of the offense that the cameras are able to record. This principle of "equivalence" is laid down in the fable "refused to be examined." As people say, "he refused - it means he was drunk. The judge says he was in an undefeated position." The point is that if it is impossible to establish what offense has taken place, then you will automatically be punished for that offense, the punishment of which is maximum.
b) now about unreadable numbers. What are unreadable numbers? The ones that a first grader or inspector can't read? In order to avoid inconsistencies and to exclude ambiguous interpretation of the norms, definitions are introduced. At the very beginning of the article, the definition of an unreadable number is given. So you cannot be punished if from a distance of 20 meters from the room:
- during the day: you can easily read 1 letter or 1 digit of the front OR back number;
- at night: you can easily read 1 letter or digit of the rear number.
Here, now you know what and how. However, such arguments may not convince the inspector and he may draw up a protocol. Please note that the definition of an unreadable number is given not in the traffic rules, but in the Code of Administrative Offenses. Also, if the inspector claims that the entire number should be visible, then ask to find witnesses who could fix with their eyes that they can read one letter or number of the sign, which will play an important role in court.

Rumors spread on the Web that for dirty or unreadable traffic police numbers they would be deprived of rights. The ground for rumors was the new June 2019 Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court, which contained instructions for traffic police officers, which clearly spelled out which license plate would be associated with an attempt to hide it or modify it. What will be the punishment for a dirty or completely unreadable state car number in 2019 (fine or deprivation of rights), this article will tell.

A penalty for an unreadable number can be obtained when even one character of the number is poorly distinguished under the above conditions. The amount of the fine in 2019 for an unreadable number under Part 1 of Art. 12.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation is equal to 500 rubles. Also, according to part 1 of article 12.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, you can get off with a milder punishment - a warning, if this oversight is immediately eliminated on the spot, i.e. just wipe dirty rooms with a rag.

A warning or a small fine can only be obtained if the numbers have become unreadable without the driver's intent. This may be due to snow or mud on the roads, etc. But sometimes the driver deliberately hides the license plate in order not to fall under penalties from the traffic police cameras. Here, the size of the fine increases to 5 thousand rubles. or the driver is threatened with deprivation of the VU for 1 year.

In the Resolution of the Supreme Court, these nuances are clearly spelled out when a driver can be deprived of his rights for an unreadable number. The car inspector will be engaged in the proof of intentions of the driver.

Which number is considered unreadable

Neither the SDA nor any other documents stipulate which parameters are responsible for the “illegibility” of state registration marks. But they are in the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation (Code of Administrative Offenses).

The Code says that all signs of the license plate both in front and behind, regardless of whether they are numbers or letters, must be recognized from a distance of 20 m during daylight hours, and in the dark, rear numbers must be recognized from the same distance. If this is not the case, then the license plate is recognized as unreadable.

It turns out that the inspector can make a claim to the readability of the license plate in the dark only to the state signs located at the back.

The reasons for the "illegibility" of numbers can be different:

• pollution due to bad weather;
• the appearance of natural or artificial wear on the number plate;
• mechanical damage;
• intentional changes in the form of additional characters, or, conversely, the actual characters were hidden.

When there are no strict criteria for “illegibility”, subjective assessment comes to the fore, thanks to which it is possible to clearly see not very dirty numbers from a distance of 20 m.

The penalty for an “illegible” registration number depends on whether the owner of the vehicle had a hand in it or the “illegibility” was formed for other reasons.

If the symbols cannot be disassembled due to natural causes, which are inclement weather, the impact of an aggressive environment on the integrity of the paint, then the punishment is determined by Part 1 of Art. 12.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation in the form of a warning or a fine, the amount of which is 500 rubles.

If during a visual inspection it will be clearly seen that the symbols are deliberately distorted (man-made smearing of the license plate, covering the number with a film or opaque material), the punishment will be much stricter under part 2 of article 12.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation in the form of a fine in the amount of 5 thousand rubles, or deprivation VU for a period of 1-3 months.

Applying various films to protect the state license plate from the effects of adverse environmental factors, you can fall under Art. 12.2 part 2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation and receive punishment up to the temporary deprivation of a driver's license.

How to Avoid Penalties for Unreadable Numbers

Unfavorable weather conditions often make our numbers "unreadable". If the traffic police inspector stops you on this occasion, then follow simple everyday rules and maintain friendly communication. The maximum you face for this violation is just a warning and a request to bring the numbers in the proper form.

In order to clean the rooms on the road, you must always carry cleaning products (sponge, brush and rag) with you.

Sometimes inspectors find fault with no reason. In order not to heat up the situation, it is better to immediately take and clean the license plate.

It happens that the traffic police officer did not have time to fix an unreadable number on a photo or video, then it is better to immediately clear the number so that there is no object of violation, and therefore no evidence.

When driving in bad weather, it is best to stop after 50 or 100 km of travel to clean the license plates. During this time, the driver can relax a little and warm up, which will have a good effect on his well-being.

If the driver behaves rudely, arrogantly or arrogantly, then nitpicking about the cleanliness of the room will only be the inspector's response to the opponent's behavior. The inspector will be more condescending when he feels a human attitude towards himself and his work. Besides:

• punishment in the form of a warning is enshrined in law;
• the assessment of “illegibility” is very subjective, because everyone has different visual acuity, and an examination on this matter is not carried out.

In such a situation, everything is extremely simple: you need not argue with the inspector, but immediately take a rag and clean the rooms.

The inspector himself may be biased in this matter, despite the adequate behavior of the driver. In this case, you need to take a photo of the cleared number of your car. It would not hurt if this inspector was present in the frame on a company car or a traffic police post.

If the conversation takes the form of a conflict, then in addition to a fine of 500 rubles. under part 1 of Art. 12.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation for a number fixed by an inspector that is unreadable due to contamination, you can run into a suspicion from the traffic police representative that the number was deliberately contaminated. And this violation will be dealt with under Part 2 of Art. 12.2, where among the punishments is the deprivation of a driver's license. In this case, you need to document the presence of bad weather conditions.

With the introduction of automatic cameras, the number of cases has increased when drivers attempt to hide their license plate or one of its symbols using paint, paper, film, etc. in order to avoid a fine.

These tricks fall under the punishment of part 2 of article 12.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. According to the same article, punishment will be threatened in case of illegibility of numbers due to snow or mud, if the inspector succeeds in proving their malicious intent. Photographs confirming the absence of rain, snow, snowstorm, blizzard during this period of time, the presence of clean asphalt, etc. can serve as evidence.

The absurdity of hiding numbers from the vigilant gaze of traffic cameras is also in the fact that they calmly read even the dirtiest license plates. It's all about their device, when the identification of the number comes with the help of built-in sensitive infrared equipment that can calculate numbers and letters from the shadows that cast the bulges of the registration license plates. Therefore, among all traffic fines issued, 90% are recorded by cameras.

One of the problems that a motorist may encounter is unreadable numbers on a car. Anything can make them unreadable - up to banal dirt. We will figure out in what cases you can be fined, and how to avoid punishment.

○ How a traffic police officer evaluates the illegibility of a number.

First of all, you need to figure out which numbers are considered unreadable. Here it is necessary to refer to the rules established by GOST 50577-93. According to paragraph 4.7 of this regulatory act, it establishes that the numbers installed on the car must be clearly distinguishable from a distance of 20 m. There are also various rules for daytime and nighttime, established directly by the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation:

• During daylight hours, it should not be possible to see at least one letter or number of both numbers from a distance of 20 m.
• At night, at least one of the letters or numbers of the back number should not be clearly visible. A different approach is due to the fact that the back number is usually highlighted in a constructive way.

Usually numbers become unreadable due to dirt. However, in addition to this, often the cause of unreadability are:

• Deformation of the license plate (for example, if it hit an obstacle).
• Peeling paint.
• The use of special measures that prevent photo or video recording of numbers. Some overly clever drivers try to avoid speeding tickets and other violations recorded by automatic cameras in this way - and attach light filters, transparent plastic overlays, nets, etc. to the numbers. As a result, although the number plate can be recognized by the human eye - but the camera no longer captures it. Needless to say, such measures are completely illegal.

○ Penalty for unreadable numbers by law.

In the event that the numbers turned out to be unreadable, the perpetrator will be punished in accordance with the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. In this case, the following rules apply:

• Part 1 Art. 12.2 - if the number is just dirty, or bent, rusted, peeled paint, etc. In this case, the driver may be punished in the form of a fine in the amount of 500 rubles. However, often the traffic police inspectors simply demand to clean the dirty number, after which, limiting themselves to a warning, they allow you to go further.
• Part 2 of the same article - if the numbers are absent at all, or have been modified or equipped with the same gratings or light filters. In this case, the perpetrator will be fined 5 thousand rubles. It is also possible here deprivation of rights for a period of 1 to 3 months.

○ Can I be fined for a dirty car, wheels?

Separately, it is worth talking about whether a fine is possible not for dirty numbers, but for dirt on the car itself.

It should be noted that the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation does not provide for a fine for this: if the numbers can be read, the cleanliness of the car itself or its wheels does not bother anyone. However, quite often traffic police officers try to bring drivers who drive dirty vehicles to responsibility.

To some extent, they are helped in this by Art. 12.33 Administrative Code of the Russian Federation. It provides for liability for damage to the road, including by polluting it, and the punishment here is quite substantial: for citizens - fine from 5 to 10 thousand rubles. However, the norm provided for by this article can be applied to owners of dirty cars only in one case - if the dirty car is so dirty that the dirt from it falls in pieces onto the roadway.

In all other cases, for dirt on the body or for dirty wheels, you they have no right to fine!

The number penalty for 2020 depends on the specific violation. What penalty for numbers will be imposed in each case depends on whether your number is unreadable, hidden, modified, distorted or even forged; and also on whether it is installed in the place provided for by the design and whether the rules for its installation are violated.

What is a fake number? This is a license plate that does not belong to your car - that is, a number from another car or does not exist at all. In any case, such a number is not registered for your car in the traffic police. We will consider all cases of fines for license plates on a car in this article. According to data relevant for 2020, they are regulated by 4 parts of Article 12.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses.

What is the penalty for unreadable numbers?

So, the very first part of Article 12.2 states that the driver is entitled to a warning or a fine of 500 rubles for unreadable numbers. Please note that the penalty is only for driving a car with illegible numbers or one number. If the car is standing still, then there is no penalty for this.

When are numbers considered unreadable? Such numbers will be recognized by the traffic police inspector if he fails to read at least one letter or number from a distance of 20 meters (note to article 12.2). At the same time, the inscription "RUS" and the image of the flag may be unreadable, there is no penalty for this. There is a difference in unreadability by time of day. Since the front number is not illuminated in the dark, there are no requirements for its readability from 20 meters, but the back number must be readable at any time. During daylight hours, both license plates should be readable - again, from a distance of 20 meters.

At the same time, the unreadability of the numbers here does not include that due to their concealment, modification. Reasons for illegibility can be, for example, the following:

• the room is covered with dirt, snow, etc. (not on purpose, of course)
• the number has been erased (black letters or numbers on the number have been erased),
• something was accidentally stuck on the number (just by accident, but this can be a moot point).

What is the penalty for numbers installed in violation of GOST?

The same part of the article provides for a similar fine of 500 rubles for numbers that are installed in violation of the requirements of GOST R 50577-93. The list of such requirements is quite wide, but quite understandable and memorable.

Let's list how it is forbidden to install license plates in order to get a fine for incorrectly installed numbers:

The penalty here is also provided only for driving with such violations.

What is the penalty for hidden numbers?

Hiding numbers in 2020 is punishable by more severe punishment. And the fine is not the only punishment. For a deliberately hidden license plate, a fine of 5,000 rubles or deprivation of rights for 1-3 months (by decision of the official or judge considering the case) is imposed under Part 2 of Article 12.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses. Only driving a car with hidden numbers is punished similarly.

Meanwhile, the line between hiding a number from readability and an unreadable license plate is quite thin. And the main factor here is the intentional concealment. If the number was deliberately smeared with mud or snow, then this is a cover-up; if by chance, then an unreadable number.

A reasonable question is how the traffic police inspector will determine whether the number is intentionally or unintentionally hidden? Alas, but at your own discretion. According to the Code of Administrative Violations, the composition of very many violations and the guilt of the driver in them are determined by the body considering the case on personal conviction, but having comprehensively and most fully considered all the circumstances and evidence (26.11 of the Code of Administrative Offenses). You - in the event of a decision not in your favor - you can appeal against such decisions.

Hiding a number includes such actions and circumstances as:

• the use of curtains on the rooms;
• the use of a reflective film (it is generally forbidden to apply any coatings to the number by the above GOST);
• hanging rooms with any objects (paper, rag, etc.);
• intentionally smearing the numbers with mud, snow, clay, etc.;
• and one more case described below...

Penalty or deprivation of rights for inverted numbers

The fact is that such a "life hack" as inverted numbers, which allows you to avoid punishment from auto-fixation cameras, is practically not described anywhere in legislative acts. GOST on license plates also does not prescribe that the numbers must be put so that they are not read upside down or do not swap the back and front parts of the license plate.

And here the issue is not so easy to solve, including in practice. If the number is turned upside down, then the punishment for this can be both in part 1 and in part 2 of Article 12.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses. At the same time, logic suggests that there may be no violation in this case at all. The fact is that the inverted number is quite readable, and the inspector does not even need to break his neck for this - everyone can read the text upside down.

On the other hand, GOST provides that the white stripe of the flag of the Russian Federation should be on top, and the red stripe on the bottom:

The image of the State Flag of the Russian Federation should be a rectangle with equal horizontal stripes: the top stripe is white, the middle one is blue and the bottom one is red.

But here, again, the violation is not so simple. This note in GOST refers to the installed types of license plates themselves and has nothing to do with the requirements for their installation on a machine. That is, the flag still remains in the correct position relative to the upper and lower edges of the number itself - just such a number is hung upside down on the car. Simply put, the white stripe near the flag is on top of the number (but below to the road), and this GOST clause refers specifically to the position relative to the number.

But for an inverted license plate with the front side to the car, when its back side is visible, it can be punished by part 2 of article 12.2 with possible deprivation of rights. This is because in this case, the intention is to hide the number. That is, the official considering the case in practice usually concludes that the license plate, deliberately directed by the front side towards the obstacle, is a clear concealment of the number.

What is the fine if the numbers are put on the glass?

For driving a vehicle, the numbers of which are installed outside the place provided for by the design, in 2020, punishment is also imposed under part 2 of article 12.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses. Including if you put the numbers behind the glass in the car, and even if they are quite visible from a 20 meter distance.

But what if there are no places provided for by the design of the car at the moment. For example, if you removed the bumper or you broke it, and the numbers are installed on the bumper? Alas, but in this case it is forbidden to go. Dura lex - sed lex (from Latin "the law is harsh, but it is the law").

What is the penalty for fake numbers?

But the most severe punishment in terms of license plates of a car awaits the driver for driving with false numbers. Let's imagine a situation that is not very common: entering the closed territory of an organization using passes issued for a car number, and a camera that fixes the number and automatically opens the barrier, if there is one in the database. You arrived in a different car, but took with you a number from the one registered in the database and put it on top of the current number in order to pass through the barrier.

If a traffic police officer sees such an action, then two punishments await you at once: the first - for the very fact of installing fake numbers, the second - for driving with fake license plates. For installation, you will be fined in the amount of 2500 rubles, but for management - deprivation of rights for a period of six months to a year.

Table of fines for numbers

The table below shows all fines and other preventive measures that are relevant for 2020 regarding violations of license plates, including those not described above.

Recently, penalties for various violations on the road have become much tougher. In particular, traffic police officers should now pay more attention to the condition of cars. If a few years ago they could be safely carried under glass, today it is considered a violation and is punishable by a fine. But this is not the only innovation related to vehicle numbers.

Unreadable license plates are one of the most common reasons why drivers receive an administrative fine. This problem becomes especially relevant when license plates become dirty or clogged with snow very quickly.

In what cases is a number considered unreadable?

Not all drivers are well aware of which numbers are considered unreadable. Indeed, in fact, even due to bruises or a layer of dirt, the symbols often remain quite distinguishable and it seems that there is no reason for the traffic police to comment. However, article 12.2 of the Administrative Code provides clear clarifications in this regard.

The license plate must be fully legible from a distance of 20 meters. The time of day also matters. During the day, both the front and rear number plates should be clearly visible, while at night only the rear plate should be readable. The definition of “unreadable numbers” also includes those cases when at least one character cannot be distinguished from 20 meters.

Such requirements are presented today in connection with the spread of video cameras on the roads. Even small defects on the plate with the number, especially during the day and in bad weather, can lead to the fact that it becomes indistinguishable on the video. But if the defect is present only on a white background and does not interfere with reading the number, there is no reason for a fine.

Why do numbers usually become unreadable?

• dirt;
• severe wear of the coating (if the numbers have not been changed for a long time);
• dents.

It is worth noting that the poor legibility of the registration number is not the only reason for stopping. The same reason for a fine is non-standard signs that in any way do not comply with GOST 50577–93. For example:

• there is no reflector attached to the numbers;
• symbols have a non-standard size or font;
• other paint was used for their image, etc.

Penalty for unreadable numbers

According to the Code of Administrative Offenses, the fine for dirty numbers in 2016 is the minimum amount - 500 rubles. But in the absence of other violations, the traffic police inspector may limit himself to an oral or written warning. How exactly to proceed, he decides at his own discretion.

There are cases when the traffic police inspectors insist that severe contamination of license plates is equated to their absence, and threaten the driver with a fine of 5,000 rubles or deprivation of rights for several months. Only knowledge of the law can save you from such situations. It is important to remember that such actions are illegal. Deprivation of rights for dirty numbers is not provided, since this is a minor violation. The maximum penalty for him is a fine.

Another thing is if the number was changed intentionally, that is, one of the symbols on it is hidden with the help of film, paper, glare surfaces, etc. This is usually done so that it cannot be identified by video surveillance. This case is already equated to the absence of a state registration plate, and the punishment will be appropriate: a fine in the amount of 5,000 rubles or deprivation of a driver's license for up to 3 months.

What to do if stopped for an unreadable number?

How to avoid a fine for unreadable numbers? If there are no other violations, the situation can be resolved quite simply. The driver is advised to behave politely and clean the license plate from dirt without unnecessary wrangling. After that, the protocol can no longer be drawn up, and the inspector can only confine himself to an oral remark.

If he nevertheless draws up a protocol, it is quite possible to challenge this decision. To do this, you need to photograph (or videotape) the car with the already wiped numbers, be sure to capture the scene and the inspector standing nearby. And in the protocol to indicate that the actions of the latter were illegal. Photographs or video recording will be reliable proof of this.

As a rule, under adverse weather conditions, traffic police officers are less strict about such violations. But still, don't count on them not to stop a car with a license plate completely covered in mud. If there is slush on the road, it is advisable to periodically check its condition and always have cleaning products on hand.