Easing penalties for drunk driving: What the Senate says

Tengrinews.kz - Former Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, Senator Marat Kozhaev commented on the proposal of the Mazhilis deputies to soften the punishment for drunk driving.
According to Kozhaev, the initiative has a very long history.

"I remember that I was already working in the authorities at that time. I remember that at first, they took away the driver's license for a year, then, I think, for two, then the terms progressed to 5-7 years of imprisonment. I think this was not taken out of a good life. Violations did not stop, people got behind the wheel while intoxicated, major accidents occurred, harm was caused to health, life, and property of people," Kozhaev said on the sidelines of the Senate.

He believes that the country came to this decision through the evolutionary development of the situation.

"Firstly, society is changing. The technical means by which violations are recorded are also changing, and information and explanatory work are improving. It is clear that these things can be discussed - nothing in this life is static. There is another side to this: some people who have been deprived of their license for 7 years contact us with complaints since they do not have access to the profession. If a person, for example, has a driver's profession and is punished, he needs to feed his family and earn money. The question arises: aren't these 7 years too long? They contact, and write, and I have received several requests. People raise the question: 'We have already been punished, served 15 days, realized our guilt.' They ask to reduce the term," the senator noted.

He explained that such measures were taken in a difficult situation when it was necessary to somehow bring such violators to order. Then strict standards were introduced.

"There are a lot of requests on this matter now. The main motivation is that people are deprived of the opportunity to feed themselves and their families. Therefore, our colleagues from the Mazhilis are currently working on this issue. When it comes to the Senate, we will also discuss it," Kozhaev added.

Earlier, Mazhilis deputy Nikolai Arsyutin called for reducing the sentence for drunk driving, calling the article one of the harshest sanctions in the world.