From September 1, 2026, two important changes for drivers will come into force in Russia. The country will update the specifics of drivers' work and rest regimes, as well as vehicle inspection rules.

Work and rest regime for drivers

The Ministry of Transport has approved new specifics for drivers' working hours and rest periods, which will be valid until September 1, 2032, replacing the old rules. The goal is to reduce accidents caused by driver fatigue.

With aggregated accounting, a driver can work no more than 10 hours per shift. However, for some categories, up to 12 hours are allowed – these are drivers of ambulances and other medical services, utility workers, emergency crews, postal services, cash-in-transit services, taxis, as well as those working on a rotational basis.

For bus drivers on urban and suburban routes, a 12-hour shift can only be introduced with the consent of the trade union (or another employee representative).

A driver can drive for no more than 9 hours per day. This time can be extended to 10 hours in two cases:

• if the shift is divided into parts (e.g., worked, then a break, then worked again);
• in other situations – no more than twice a week.

However, there are general time limits:

• no more than 56 hours in one week;
• no more than 90 hours in two consecutive weeks.

The driver must take a break of at least 45 minutes – no later than 4.5 hours behind the wheel. This break can be split into parts: first, a minimum of 15 minutes, then a minimum of 30 minutes. For bus drivers on urban and suburban routes, each part of the break must be no shorter than 10 minutes. And if lunch was no later than 5 hours after the start of the shift, the break between parts of work can be taken immediately after it.

Every day, the driver must rest for at least 11 hours – this rest can be reduced to 9 hours no more than three times between two weekly rests. Weekly rest is a minimum of 45 hours. In exceptional cases, it can be reduced to 24 hours, but no more than once every two weeks. The missed time will have to be “taken off” within the next three weeks.

Violation of the regime entails liability under Part 3 of Article 11.23 of the Code of Administrative Offenses: from 1500 to 2000 rubles for the driver and up to 50000 rubles for the company.

The rules do not apply to drivers of fire and emergency rescue vehicles (including ambulances), international transport, drivers operating only within an enterprise (without entering public roads), departmental security, and drivers of official passenger cars serving government bodies.

Innovations in vehicle inspection

Russia has tightened control over vehicle inspections to prevent the issuance of diagnostic cards without a real vehicle inspection. If an operator is found to have two or more such cases within 12 months, or if the operator ceases operations, their access to the EAISTO system may be blocked. The operator has the right to appeal such a decision – to a higher authority or in court.

If the owner does not have a vehicle registration certificate (STS) or vehicle passport (PTS) and cannot restore them, it will still be possible to undergo a vehicle inspection: it is sufficient to present an extract from the state register of vehicles. For taxis, operators now have an additional check – they can check on the FGIS website whether the car has a valid permit, and based on this, correctly determine the validity period of the diagnostic card.

Another important change is that the state duty for entering information into the system must now be paid before issuing the diagnostic card, not after. In addition, the card can be annulled not only based on inspection results but also based on information from the prosecutor's office or a court decision that has entered into force.