The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted in first reading bill No. 15358, which introduces liability for operating a vehicle that exceeds the permissible noise level. This was reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing the Telegram channel of People's Deputy Yaroslav Zhelezniak and the text of the document itself. 261 people's deputies voted in favor of adopting the initiative in first reading, securing the result needed to clear the first hurdle.
The essence of the initiative: protection against acoustic masking
The key goal of the bill, as follows from its justification, is to eliminate the factor of acoustic disorientation of air defense forces and mobile fire groups. This refers to cases where drivers deliberately imitate the sounds of enemy drones with their vehicles, creating a false acoustic picture and complicating the work of air defense. In this way, the legislator is trying to close the "acoustic window" that could be used to mask real threats.
Size of the sanctions
According to business and automotive media, drivers who exceed the permissible noise level face a fine of up to 17,000 hryvnias, while in stricter versions and in cases with aggravating circumstances — up to 34,000 hryvnias with the possibility of license suspension. The exact list of rates and conditions for applying the sanctions will be detailed at the stage of second reading and during the refinement of the text.
Context: the fate of the bill on speeding
Against the backdrop of the discussion on noise fines, it is worth noting a parallel initiative to tighten penalties for speeding, where fines were proposed to be set in the range of 680 to 17,000 hryvnias depending on the severity of the violation. However, the Rada did not support this document on the same day: 225 deputies voted in favor, against the required 226, meaning the initiative failed by a single vote.
Contradictory data
Publications from sources record discrepancies in the figures for the sanctions: some media outlets (for example, delo.ua) cite the upper limit of the fine as 17,000 hryvnias, while others (RBC-Ukraine, TSN) — up to 34,000 hryvnias with license suspension. The difference is probably due to different versions of the document and different levels of violation, however, a single agreed-upon figure in open sources is not available as of the first reading. Separately, autonews.ru reports on calls to raise fines for noisy cars fivefold and on the position of the Cabinet of Ministers, which is expressed as disagreement with such tightening. Finally, it is important not to confuse two different documents: the bill on noisy cars was adopted in first reading (261 votes), while the bill on speeding was rejected (225 votes against the required 226).
Thus, the initiative on "noise" fines has passed the first legislative hurdle and will now be refined by the relevant committees. The final size of the sanctions and the mechanism for their application will become known after the second reading and the adoption of the law as a whole.
