After 12-year-old son dies in road crash, serviceman Hlushych calls on Rada to toughen penalties for offending drivers. VIDEO
National Guard of Ukraine serviceman Oleksii Hlushych, whose 12-year-old son Hryhorii was killed in a high-profile road crash in Kyiv, has appealed to members of parliament to strengthen liability for dangerous traffic violations. He stressed that systematic violations should lead to the revocation of driving licences before a fatal crash occurs.
Hlushych said this in an appeal published on social media, Censor.NET reports. It also became known that the Verkhovna Rada considered Bill No. 15348 today and held an indicative vote on it. The parliamentary session was then closed, and on September 16 lawmakers are to begin their work with consideration of this legislative initiative.
According to the serviceman, his son was killed three months ago in a road crash at Karavayevi Dachi in Kyiv. Hlushych said that a Mercedes was travelling at about 150 km/h in a 50 km/h zone and crashed into an underground pedestrian crossing. Four people were killed, and another three were injured.
"This was not an accident. This was not a coincidence. It was the obvious result of drivers in Ukraine being virtually unpunished," Hlushych said.
According to him, the driver who caused the fatal crash had previously violated traffic rules dozens of times.
"You can violate the rules 39 times, kill a person on the fortieth time, and no one stops you. They only fine you, the fines are ridiculous, and they do not take away your licence," the serviceman stressed.
Hlushych called on lawmakers to support Bill No. 15348 and its alternative at first reading, and to revise the provisions before the second reading so that liability for dangerous violations is severe.
He cited European countries as an example, where, he said, Ukrainian drivers immediately change their behaviour because of much harsher penalties.
"Breaking the rules must hurt. If a person does not understand that rules are not about fines but about life, then fines must be high. It should not be UAH 340 but UAH 34,000. Licences must be taken away before someone kills another person," Hlushych said.
After his son’s death, the serviceman launched a public campaign to strengthen road safety. His petition to the president calling for tougher liability for offending drivers and for road safety to be considered by the National Security and Defense Council collected the required 25,000 signatures.
- As Censor.NET previously reported, a fatal road crash occurred in Kyiv on June 5. Four people were killed, including Hryhorii, the 12-year-old son of serviceman Oleksii Hlushych.
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After 12-year-old Hrysha Hlushych was killed in a horrific road crash at Karavayevi Dachi in Kyiv, his parents began investigating why drivers who systematically and grossly violate speed limits remain behind the wheel. They often continue driving even after their licences have been revoked.
They initiated a petition to the president calling for traffic reform, joined discussions of relevant bills, and are now seeking systemic changes and lower road fatality rates.
Censor.NET journalists spoke with Oleksii Hlushych and Oleksandra Terletska about the crash investigation, penalties for drivers, the launch of "Phantoms," and what can actually make roads safer.
