“Zero per mille” canceled in Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed the act, cancelling the so-called "zero per mille" for drivers. The document has been published at the official portal of legal information.

The act has introduced the concept of the minimum allowed content of alcohol in blood, used to define the level of driver’s intoxication.

At present the state of drunkenness shall include the presence of ethyl alcohol in the concentration, exceeding the possible summary deviation of measurements – 0.16 and more than one milligram per liter of air exhaled.

Driving of a vehicle under intoxication shall be punished with a fine of 30 thousand rubles and a driving ban for a period from 1.5 to 2 years. The same punishment shall be imposed if a vehicle owner has let a drunken person to drive – this will be qualified as the permission for a drunken person to drive the vehicle.

If a drunken person with a driving ban is driving, he/she may be arrested for a period from 10 to 15 days. Any repeated driving of a vehicle under intoxication or any permission for a drunken person to drive the vehicle shall be punished with a fine of 50 thousand rubles and a driving ban for a period of 3 years.