7th Symposium of Lawyers - Fedor Kormilitsin

“Diversity of controls and sanctions in goods road transport: helping your hauliers through the maze of unharmonised applications”

Fedor Kormilitsin
Assistant Departmental Manager, ASMAP,
Russian Federation

Working conditions for drivers: inspection measures and sanctions within the Russian Federation

It is widely believed that creation of the current legislative basis for regulating drivers’ working conditions and rest periods for road transport began in 1978, when the Soviet Union signed the European Agreement governing the work of crews of vehicles engaged in international road transport (AETR) (resolution passed by the Council of Ministers of the USSR on 20th June 1978 no505 “Regarding annexation of the USSR to the European Agreement governing the work of crews of vehicles engaged in international road transport (AETR)”.

The Russian Federation is a successor to the USSR (continuing state) and continues to exercise the rights and obligations arising from international agreements concluded with the Soviet Union.
Therefore, the AETR agreement, like other international agreements concluded by the USSR, represents an international agreement for the Russian Federation.

Subsequent legislative consolidation regarding the need to implement the requirements of the AETR when Russian carriers are engaged in international road transport took place with the adoption of the federal law of 24th July 1998 no137-F3 “Regarding state controls of the provision of international road transport and regarding liability in the event of an infringement of the procedure for execution of the latter”. 

Pursuant to article 8 of the aforementioned law, drivers of transport vehicles, when engaged in road transport within the Russian Federation, must adhere to the system of drivers’ working hours and breaks established by the Russian Federation’s international agreement on the work of crews of vehicles engaged in international road transport, i.e. the AETR agreement.

This same article states that, within the Russian Federation, the requirements must be implemented in terms of the installation and use in vehicles of systems for monitoring and recording the working hours and breaks (tachographs) of drivers of vehicles belonging:

• to Russian carriers engaged in international road transport,
• to foreign carriers – carriers from countries that are signatories to the European Agreement governing the work of crews of vehicles engaged in international road transport,
• to foreign carriers – carriers from countries with which the Russian Federation has concluded international agreements, requiring compliance with the conditions outlined in this article.

In cases that are not covered by this article, instead of using systems for monitoring and recording the working hours and breaks (tachographs) of drivers of transport vehicles, it is acceptable for drivers of transport vehicles belonging to foreign carriers to complete daily forms recording working hours and breaks.

Given the fact that, in 2000, not all Russian carriers engaged in international road transport were technically ready to meet the requirements relating to the installation of tachographs, an addition was made to the aforementioned law, stipulating that the installation and use of tachographs in transport vehicles belonging to Russian carriers would not be mandatory until 1st January 2005, when engaging in international road transport in countries that were not signatories to the AETR, unless specified otherwise in the Russian Federation’s international agreements.

This postponement allowed Russian carriers the opportunity to install the necessary technical systems in their vehicles. Currently, installation and use of tachographs is mandatory for all Russian carriers engaged in international road transport irrespective of whether the destination country is a signatory to the AETR agreement or not.

The measures for checking compliance with the system of working hours and breaks for drivers of transport vehicles engaged in international road transport, as well as inspection methods for checking compliance with this system, are governed by the federal law of 24th July 1998 no127-F3, as well as the clause relating to state controls of the provision of international road transport, ratified by the resolution passed by the government of the Russian Federation on 31st October 1998 no1272 and the rules for the use of tachographs in transport vehicles within the Russian Federation, ratified by the order issued by the Russian Ministry of Transport on 7th July 1998 no86.

In accordance with the aforementioned rules 

The driver of a transport vehicle:

а) ensures proper use of a tachograph, that it is switched on at the correct time and that the tachograph’s buttons are changed for the corresponding working system,
b) obtains, changes and completes registration forms, at the correct time, and keeps them safe,
c) uses registration forms for every day on which he/she drives the transport vehicle, from the moment he/she takes control of it,
d) monitors recording of working hours and breaks in the event that the tachograph should fail to operate, on the back of his/her registration form by hand using a grid with symbols, and informs the owner of the transport vehicle of this,
e) has in his/her possession, and presents for inspection by employees of inspection bodies, completed registration forms for the current week and for the last day of the previous week in which he/she drove the transport vehicle,
f) offers employees of inspection bodies the opportunity to check the stamp and charts created by tachographs with the setting parameters.

The owner of the transport vehicle:

а) issues drivers with a sufficient quantity of registration forms in the required format for use in the tachograph installed in the vehicle, taking account of the personalised nature of registration forms,
b) keeps the registration forms completed by each driver for at least 12 months from the day of the last entry and certificates relating to tachograph checks for 3 years from the date on which they are issued,
c) carries out an analysis of data on the registration forms and, in the event that infringements come to light, takes measures to eliminate these infringements,
d) submits the documents mentioned in sub-section “b” of this section for inspection by employees of inspection bodies.

State controls regarding compliance with the procedure for engaging in international road transport, including compliance with the system of drivers’ working hours and breaks, are the responsibility of the executive federal body in charge of inspection and monitoring within the transport sector and its regional bodies. Currently, these duties are undertaken by the Federal Department for monitoring in the transport sector (Rostransnadzor).

Officials from the transport inspection and monitoring bodies carry out transport inspections within the Russian Federation at the Russian Federation’s border crossing points as well as at stationary and mobile checkpoints, as indicated by specific road signs.

For the purpose of transport inspections, officials from transport inspection and monitoring bodies have a right to stop vehicles at these points only.

In the event that, when crossing the national border of the Russian Federation, an infringement of the Russian Federation’s international agreements or of the Russian Federation’s legislation in the transport sector, which may have been committed by a foreign carrier, is discovered, the official from Rostransnadzor will only allow the vehicle belonging to the aforementioned foreign carrier to subsequently transport loads through the territory of the Russian Federation once this infringement has been remedied.

Officials from transport inspection and monitoring bodies inspect the systems for monitoring and recording the working hours and breaks (tachographs) of drivers, the completion of tachographs or, in established cases, the completion by drivers of daily registration forms for working hours and breaks as well as compliance by transport vehicle drivers with the system of working hours and breaks.

Inspections check for:

• The presence, proper operation and recording of the tachograph in accordance with the rules, as well as compliance by the driver with its conditions of use,
• Entries on the registration forms for the current week and for the last day of the previous week, in which the driver drove the transport vehicle,
• Compliance with the speed limits when travelling,
• Compliance with the drivers’ system of working hours and breaks,
• The condition of the stamp on the tachograph, the presence of charts with the setting parameters,
• Compliance with the regulations regarding the intervals, at which the tachograph should be inspected,
• Compliance of the data appearing in the charts containing the tachograph’s setting parameters with the vehicle’s actual parameters.

An official fine is imposed, pursuant to article 1.23 of Administrative offence legislation for the Russian Federation (subsequently in the document entitled CoAP RF), for infringement of the system of working hours and breaks for drivers of transport vehicles engaged in international road transport.

Driving a goods vehicle or a bus/coach for the provision of international road transport without a monitoring system (tachograph) or with a tachograph switched off, as well as with incomplete tachographs or without completing registration forms reflecting the system of working hours and breaks for drivers, results in an official fine of 2,500 roubles.

Infringement of the established system of working hours and breaks by the driver of a goods vehicle or a bus/coach engaged in international road transport may result in an official fine of between 500 and 1,000 roubles.

The objective aspect of infringements outlined in section 1 of article 11.23 is demonstrated by the fact that the guilty party is driving the goods vehicle or the bus/coach while engaging in international road transport:
1) without a monitoring system (tachograph),
2) with a tachograph switched off,
3) with incomplete tachographs,
4) without completing registration forms reflecting the system of working hours and breaks for drivers.

The objective aspect of infringements outlined in section 2 of article 11.23 is demonstrated by the fact that the guilty party is breaching the established system of working hours and breaks for the driver of a goods vehicle or a bus/coach engaging in international road transport (breaching working standards, and in particular exceeding the established duration for uninterrupted driving of a transport vehicle, breaching the system for rest periods (sleeping) and meals, as a result of which a driver may be physically overworked, thereby increasing the risk of a road accident, etc.).

The subjects of infringements examined are the drivers of goods vehicles or buses/coaches engaging in international road transport. Nevertheless, drivers, who are foreign citizens, may also be subject to official sanctions depending on the article in question.
Investigations of administrative offences outlined in article 11.23 of CoAP RF are undertaken by officials from internal affairs bodies and Rostransnadzor bodies.

The system of working hours and breaks for drivers is also regulated when engaging in internal transportation within the Russian Federation.

The Order issued by the Russian Federation’s Ministry of Transport on 20.08.2004 no15 ratified the clause governing the specific details of the system of working hours and breaks for drivers of transport vehicles.

This document is aimed at drivers and employers engaging in transport activities within Russia. The clause defines the specific details of the system of working hours and breaks for drivers working, depending on their contract, with vehicles belonging to organisations, irrespective of their legal and organisational forms and the form of ownership, to individual entrepreneurs and other people. These details of the system of working hours and breaks are mandatory when scheduling the working hours for drivers.

The clause does not relate to the work of drivers involved in international transport.

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