The Constitutional Court Recognized the Legitimacy of Automatic Fines for Overloaded Trucks
The Constitutional Court of Ukraine ruled on December 11, confirming the legitimacy of the provisions of the Code of Administrative Offenses regarding automatically recorded violations of weight and dimension standards for trucks. From now on, vehicle owners will be held responsible for such violations if they do not provide data on the actual user of the vehicle.
This is reported by AgroReview
Owner Responsibility and the Purpose of Fines
The court clarified that the presumption of owner responsibility is established in the first part of Article 14-3 of the Code. The person registered as the owner of the vehicle is considered responsible for the violation if there is no information about another user. According to the court, this approach is justified by the need to ensure road safety and protect the interests of society and the state.
“In the first part of Article 14-3 of the Code, there is a presumption of fact, whereby the responsible person at the time of the violation is prima facie (at first glance) considered to be the one operating the vehicle. Such regulation is justified given the harm that vehicles exceeding weight and dimension control norms can cause, and it aligns with the need to ensure road safety and safety in automotive transport, as well as to protect the interests of society and the state as a whole,” the Constitutional Court explained.
Additionally, the court recognized the high fines for overloaded trucks as legitimate. This level of sanctions has a legitimate purpose — to create economic incentives for compliance with established norms and to prevent repeat violations.
Features of the Weigh-in-Motion System
Automatic weighing of trucks is carried out using Weigh-in-Motion (WIM) complexes, which monitor axle loads and the total mass of vehicles around the clock. The system automatically records violations and transmits information to the State Agency for Restoration and Development of Infrastructure and the State Transport Safety Service. Inspectors process the received data for further imposition of fines.
During the first quarter, the state budget was replenished by 41.3 million UAH due to the implementation of WIM complexes, indicating the effectiveness of automatic monitoring of compliance with weight and dimension norms among carriers.