Violation of the rules of road safety and operation of transport by persons driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs or other intoxicants or under the influence of drugs that reduce attention and reaction time (Article 286-1 of the Criminal Code)

The article provides a comprehensive analysis of the criminal law regulation of liability for violation of traffic safety rules committed while intoxicated, with a focus on the content, structure and meaning of Article 286-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The author establishes the regulatory prerequisites for its introduction, which are caused by the high level of road accidents, a significant number of victims in road accidents involving drunk drivers and insufficient effectiveness of the previous regulation under Article 286 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The author describes the elements of the crime under Article 286-1 of the CC of Ukraine, taking into account its objective and subjective features, qualifying circumstances and peculiarities of differentiation of liability depending on the severity of the consequences. The author analyses the specifics of law application of the new provision, including the difficulties of proving the fact of intoxication, competition with Article 286 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, heterogeneity of court practice, and issues of sentencing. Attention is drawn to the impact of the introduction of Article 286-1 on the general criminal law approach to ensuring road safety and the shift in emphasis from the consequences of an act to its dangerous nature. Within the framework of the historical and legal approach, the author examines the regulation of the relevant offences in the Criminal Code of the Ukrainian SSR of 1960. It is proved that this approach limited the possibility of criminal law response to dangerous behaviour of intoxicated persons, and the liability of pedestrians who created a threat on the road by their actions was not properly reflected in the law. A separate section of the study is devoted to the analysis of the provisions of the draft new Criminal Code of Ukraine, which demonstrates the desire to expand the criminal law impact on all categories of road users. The author examines new corpus delicti of criminal offences covering not only the fact of being intoxicated, but also evasion of sobriety tests and allowing a drunk person to drive. The advantages of the systematic approach enshrined in the draft law are highlighted, while the lack of a clear mechanism for bringing to criminal responsibility pedestrians whose behaviour leads to serious consequences is revealed. The author raises the question of the expediency of further detailing the relevant provisions.