The Prosecutor General's Office of Uzbekistan has published a draft law for public discussion that introduces administrative liability and driver's license suspension for violations of child transport rules.
The document proposes adding a new article 128−11 to the Code of Administrative Liability. Under the draft, violating child transport rules would result in a fine of 30 times the basic calculation value (BCV) (12.36 million soums) and suspension of driving rights for 1 to 3 years.
If the violation is committed by a person without a driver's license or who has been deprived of it, the proposed penalty is a fine of 50 BCV (20.6 million soums) or up to 15 days of administrative detention.
Separate liability is introduced for violating the rules of organizing child transport: a fine of 30 BCV, and up to 50 BCV for repeat offenses within a year.
The document notes that despite reforms in road safety, the proportion of children among traffic accident victims remains high. One reason cited is non-compliance with safety requirements when transporting minors.
The Prosecutor General's Office stated that current legislation lacks clear and effective liability measures for such violations, contributing to their prevalence.
According to Zoyir Yuldoshev, press secretary of the Road Safety Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, violations are often detected in private and family kindergartens. Between May 1 and 12, 170 cases of transporting preschool children in violation of rules were recorded, involving 3,872 children—an average of 23 per vehicle.
In May, a bus driver in Romitan district, Bukhara region, who transported children while intoxicated, was convicted under three articles, including violation of passenger transport rules, which carries a fine of 2 BCV. The court imposed a total fine of 40 BCV (16.48 million soums).
Earlier, in Navoi region, a Matiz car carrying 14 kindergarten children was involved in an accident. The driver died in hospital, and all children sustained injuries of varying severity.
Overloading cases were also detected in other regions: in Surkhandarya, a private kindergarten minibus carried 32 children; in Syrdarya, a Damas driver transported 28 children; in Namangan, 25 children; and in Bukhara, two Damas vehicles carried a total of 36 children (20 and 16).
Source: www.gazeta.uz