The State Duma Committee on Transportation rejected the initiative of deputies from the Vologda region, who proposed reinstating fines for exceeding the average speed on highways. Regional authorities insisted on conducting a legal experiment: they proposed recording violations using the formula "road section length / time to travel it" and fining drivers under Article 12.9 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation.
The project envisioned launching the experiment by the end of 2026 on a 200 km long section. However, the State Duma pointed out that drivers would be able to bypass the system by making stops at gas stations or parking lots to formally "maintain" the average speed. In addition, there would be a risk of duplicate fines: the same speeding violation could be penalized for both "instantaneous" speed and "average" speed.
Criticism has been voiced before. In 2021, the Supreme Court overturned the practice of fining for average speed, emphasizing that the location of the violation must be specific, not an undefined section of the road. Later, the Ministry of Transport proposed amendments, but they were not adopted, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs opposed their implementation.
The idea of recording average speed is actively discussed in the regions — it was supported by the authorities of Moscow, Tatarstan, YaNAO, and Vologda, considering the measure an effective way to combat traffic accidents. However, federal authorities fear legal conflicts and an increase in the number of disputed fines. For drivers, this means maintaining the usual speed control system, without introducing new grounds for penalties.