{"id":1996,"date":"2026-04-02T10:22:51","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T07:22:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/svaroglaw.com\/paynuj-za-rulem-2\/"},"modified":"2026-10-20T11:17:02","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T08:17:02","slug":"paynuj-za-rulem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/svaroglaw.com\/en\/blog\/paynuj-za-rulem\/","title":{"rendered":"What does a drunk driver face under Article 130 of the CAO, and when does the case become criminal?"},"content":{"rendered":"
UAH 17,000<\/b>the fine for a driver’s first drink-driving offence or refusal of an intoxication test (Code of Administrative Offences (CAO), Art. 130(1))<\/div>
1 year without a licence<\/b>the court imposes it on a driver together with the fine, not instead of it<\/div>
Art. 286-1 of the Criminal Code<\/b>a criminal case only if your breach of the road traffic rules caused a victim injury of at least medium severity<\/div><\/div>\n

As long as nobody is hurt, driving while intoxicated is an administrative offence under Article 130 of the CAO, and a first offence costs a driver a UAH 17,000 fine and a one-year driving ban.<\/strong> A criminal case under Article 286-1 of the Criminal Code arises when an intoxicated driver has broken the road traffic rules and, as a result, a victim has suffered bodily injury of at least medium severity or has died; minor injuries do not lead to one. A repeat offence within a year will cost UAH 34,000 and three years without a licence. If you have already been penalised twice within a year for drink-driving or refusing the test, the sanction is UAH 51,000, ten years without a licence and confiscation of the car if it is your private property. All these penalties are imposed by a district or city court (CAO, Art. 221), so a police officer does not issue a fine on the spot.<\/p>\n

For the vast majority of people stopped while drunk at the wheel, the matter ends with a court ruling. According to the Patrol Police, in 2025 officers drew up 138,047 reports under Parts 1\u20134 of Article 130, and that year local courts imposed penalties under this article on 108,764 people (State Judicial Administration (SJA) report on Form No. 1-\u043f). In 2025 sentences under Article 286-1 became final in respect of 397 convicted persons, and 193 of them received actual imprisonment (Form No. 6).<\/p>\n

Where Article 130 of the CAO ends and Article 286-1 of the Criminal Code begins<\/h2>\n

The line between an administrative offence report and criminal proceedings is drawn by the consequences of the drive. For a case to proceed under Article 286-1, three circumstances must coincide:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Intoxication at the wheel:<\/strong> the driver was driving while intoxicated by alcohol, drugs or another substance, or under the influence of medicines that impair attention and reaction time.<\/li>\n
  2. The driver’s own breach of the rules:<\/strong> it was this driver who broke the rules of road safety or vehicle operation.<\/li>\n
  3. Harm caused by that breach:<\/strong> the victim suffered bodily injury of medium severity or grave bodily injury, or died.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    If even one of them is missing, there is no criminal liability under Article 286-1. Minor injuries, an accident without victims or a crash caused by another driver keep the intoxicated driver within Article 130 of the CAO, and a first offence is classified under Part 1 regardless of whether the device showed 0.3 \u2030 or 2 \u2030.<\/p>\n

    A sober driver at fault in the same kind of crash is tried under Article 286 of the Criminal Code, and the two articles differ most where the consequences are least serious. For medium-severity injury, Part 1 of Article 286 allows a fine of UAH 51,000 to UAH 85,000, correctional labour for up to two years, arrest for up to six months or restriction of liberty for up to three years, whereas Part 1 of Article 286-1 provides only for imprisonment for up to three years. If a person was killed, a sober driver faces 3 to 8 years’ imprisonment (Art. 286(2)), and the court may choose not to impose a driving ban. For an intoxicated driver, Part 3 of Article 286-1 provides for 5 to 10 years and a mandatory driving ban of 5\u201310 years (the court may decline to impose it only under Article 69(2) of the Criminal Code). Under Article 12 of the Criminal Code, Part 1 of Article 286-1 is a non-grave crime, Parts 2 and 3 are grave crimes, and Part 4, where several people were killed and the term reaches 12 years, is an especially grave crime.<\/p>\n

    In 2025 intoxicated drivers caused 643 accidents with victims: 73 people were killed and 857 injured. For January\u2013August 2026 the Patrol Police counted 329 such accidents, 25 deaths and 427 injured. For 2025 the Office of the Prosecutor General recorded 1,044 criminal offences under Article 286-1; a notice of suspicion was served in 746 cases and 615 were sent to court. For the eight months of 2026 the figures were 678, 434 and 312 respectively. The prosecution report also covers proceedings from previous years, so it is not worth calculating proportions from it.<\/p>\n

    \"Diagram<\/a><\/p>\n

    Article 130 CAO fines and Article 286-1 Criminal Code sanctions in one table<\/h2>\n

    The amounts are calculated from a tax-free minimum income of UAH 17 (paragraph 5, Subsection 1, Section XX of the Tax Code). The current wording of Article 130 was set by Laws No. 2617-VIII and No. 1231-IX, and the fine for drink-driving has not changed since 17 March 2021. Parts 6 and 7 of Article 130, like Part 5, concern boats and jet skis.<\/p>\n

    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
    Part and what happened<\/th>\nFine<\/th>\nDetention or imprisonment<\/th>\nDriving ban<\/th>\nVehicle<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
    Art. 130, Part 1, driver: driving while intoxicated, handing over control to an intoxicated person, refusing the test<\/td>\nUAH 17,000<\/td>\n\u2014<\/td>\n1 year<\/td>\n\u2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Art. 130, Part 1, \u201cother persons\u201d in the sanction, for example someone without the right to drive<\/td>\nUAH 17,000<\/td>\n\u2014<\/td>\n\u2014<\/td>\n\u2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Art. 130, Part 2: any of the Part 1 offences repeated within a year<\/td>\nUAH 34,000<\/td>\n10 days’ detention instead of the fine<\/td>\n3 years<\/td>\nwith or without forfeiture for compensation<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Art. 130, Part 3: within a year the person has already been penalised twice for driving while intoxicated or refusing the test<\/td>\nUAH 51,000<\/td>\n15 days’ detention instead of the fine<\/td>\n10 years<\/td>\nconfiscation if the car is the offender’s private property<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Art. 130, Part 4: alcohol or drugs after an accident or after being stopped by the police, before the test<\/td>\nUAH 34,000<\/td>\n15 days’ detention instead of the fine<\/td>\n3 years<\/td>\n\u2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Art. 130, Part 5: a boat operator, including of a small vessel or a jet ski<\/td>\nUAH 17,000<\/td>\n10 days’ detention or 40\u201360 hours of community service instead of the fine<\/td>\n1\u20133 years, all types of watercraft<\/td>\n\u2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Art. 286-1 of the Criminal Code, Parts 1\u20134: the victim suffered medium-severity or grave injury, died, several people died<\/td>\nnot provided for<\/td>\nimprisonment up to 3 \/ 3\u20138 \/ 5\u201310 \/ 7\u201312 years<\/td>\n3\u20135 \/ 5\u20138 \/ 5\u201310 \/ 7\u201310 years<\/td>\n\u2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n

    For drivers, detention under Article 130 has no range: the law specifies exactly 10 days under Part 2 and exactly 15 under Parts 3 and 4 (10 to 15 days is provided only by Part 6, for those who operate a boat or jet ski without the right to do so). The court chooses detention instead of the fine, while the driving ban and, under Part 3, confiscation are imposed with either option. Detention is not applied to pregnant women, women with children under 12, minors or people with Group I and II disabilities (CAO, Art. 32(2)), so for them only the fine remains under Parts 2\u20134. In 2025, 952 people received detention as the principal penalty under Article 130, and 107,799 a fine.<\/p>\n

    A repeat offence within a year: when the car is taken away under Parts 2 and 3 of Article 130<\/h2>\n

    A repeat offence within a year is classified under Part 2 of Article 130 if an administrative penalty has already been imposed on the person for the previous one (CAO, Art. 35, point 2), whatever that offence was: driving while intoxicated, handing over the wheel or refusing the test. Part 3 requires more: within the year there must already be two rulings imposing penalties, and specifically for driving while intoxicated or refusing the test. Penalties for handing over the wheel do not count here, and a third report without two previous rulings does not yet mean Part 3. The consequences for the car and the licence are as follows:<\/p>\n