During the discussion, the deputies addressed Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Igor Lepeha, emphasizing the importance of prompt responses to sensational information that misleads citizens. In particular, they referred to the alleged fines for warming up vehicles for more than five minutes.
“There is no mention of a 5-minute rule for warming up. Mechanical vehicles are prohibited from stopping (most likely Lepeha meant parking — ed.) in populated areas with the engine running if it causes inconvenience to residents. We only take action on this rule based on complaints. Last year, there were three such cases, one of which was canceled by the prosecutor’s office. Therefore, we do not hold anyone accountable for warming up the engine. This issue is completely exaggerated,” stated the deputy minister.
According to the traffic rules, parking is defined as the intentional cessation of vehicle movement for more than 5 minutes, unrelated to the boarding or alighting of passengers or the loading or unloading of the vehicle.
If you are idling with the engine running and it causes inconvenience to residents, you are violating parking regulations and fall under Article 597 of the Code of Administrative Offenses for “Violation of the rules for stopping or parking vehicles.” The fine for warming up the engine in such a case is 5 MRP for the first offense, and if you are caught again within a year, the fine increases to 10 MRP.
When the police state that there is no fine for warming up for five minutes, they mean that officers do not go door to door issuing fines to every car owner. However, if one of your neighbors complains about you, you may be fined.
There have already been enough such cases in the country. The media reported an incident involving warming up a vehicle that received widespread attention. The fine was canceled. However, there are instances where citizens were fined based on complaints from malicious neighbors, and those fines were not overturned.