During its session on August 4, the Legislative Chamber reviewed a bill aimed at significantly tightening penalties for specific traffic violations.
The chief of the Traffic Safety Service Murodbek Sherliev presented the proposed regulations.
According to Ministry of Internal Affairs, Uzbekistan recorded approximately 27 million traffic violations in 2025, with 77% categorized as severe offenses. This rampant non-compliance resulted in devastating consequences, with road accidents claiming 2,188 lives and leaving another 8,900 people with varying degrees of injury.
The data highlighted several critical areas of concern:
- Underage Driving: Authorities documented around 2,500 instances where individuals allowed minors aged 14 to 16 to take the wheel. These cases led to 44 fatalities and 101 injuries.
- Drunk Driving: Driving under the influence accounted for 92 deaths and 46 injuries.
- Extreme Speeding: The ministry flagged 156,300 violations involving drivers exceeding speed limits by 40 km/h or more. Speeding incidents proved to be the deadliest factor, resulting in 1,625 fatalities and 606 injuries.
Vehicle Seizure of Up to One Year
To combat these trends, the draft legislation introduces a new punitive measure: the temporary impoundment of vehicles for a period of six months to one year for high-risk traffic offenses that pose a severe threat to public safety.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs maintains that temporarily removing chronic offenders from the road—specifically those who systematically and flagrantly disregard traffic regulations—is vital to preventing future road casualties.
Underage Driving Restrictions
The draft bill proposes establishing a distinct administrative offense for allowing a minor to operate a motor vehicle. Should the violation lead to severe or fatal consequences, the offense will escalate to a criminal charge.
To illustrate the critical need for this provision, the Ministry of Internal Affairs official cited a tragic accident that occurred this past February in Tashkent. In that incident, a 10th-grade student operating a BMW caused a fatal crash that claimed the life of a traffic police officer.
The ministry emphasized that the ultimate objective of this regulation is not merely to enforce harsher punishments, but rather to cultivate a higher sense of accountability among vehicle owners while protecting children and other road users alike.
Illegal Street Racing and Extreme Speeding
The proposed legislation also introduces independent administrative liability targeting the organization of and participation in unauthorized street racing.
Furthermore, lawmakers intend to amend the Law on Road Traffic to explicitly prohibit illicit racing on all public roadways and establish standardized frameworks for such events. Moving forward, competitive racing activities will be legally permitted exclusively within specialized, designated safe zones.
According to data released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, an illegal street race in the Surkhandarya province earlier this year turned fatal, claiming two lives and leaving several others injured.
In a separate measure, the draft bill proposes substantially increasing penalties for drivers caught exceeding speed limits by 80 km/h or more. Under a previous proposal, this extreme violation would carry a maximum fine of up to 26.8 million soums along with the immediate revocation of driving privileges. During his briefing, the head of the Traffic Safety Service emphasized the catastrophic impact of high-speed driving, noting that 156,300 documented instances of drivers speeding by 40 km/h or more resulted in 1,625 fatalities and 606 injuries.
To illustrate the extremity of the problem, ministry officials explicitly pointed to a viral incident involving a Tashkent-based motorcycle vlogger who recorded himself accelerating to a reckless 310 km/h.
"Our objective is not to generate revenue through higher fines, but to deter behavior that poses an extraordinarily high threat to human life," stated Murodbek Sherliev.
Nighttime Roadside Hazards
The sweeping legislation also intends to penalize freight operators who abandon large cargo trucks on roadsides overnight in positions that jeopardize public safety.
Ministry data revealed that authorities flagged more than 2,000 such instances in 2025. Collisions involving these improperly parked commercial vehicles proved uniquely lethal, causing 84 deaths and injuring another 126 people.
Revoking Discount Privileges for Chronic Offenders
Finally, the bill has proposed a provision to strip chronic offenders of financial incentives. Drivers who repeatedly commit severe traffic violations will lose their eligibility to pay heavily discounted traffic fines for a period of one year.
This restrictive measure will target habitual traffic violators. Specifically, the eligibility for discounted fines will be suspended if a driver commits any of the following offenses within a single calendar month:
- Running a red light or disobeying a restrictive traffic signal twice;
- Operating a vehicle with illegally modified window tinting twice;
- Installing unauthorized emergency audio or visual warning devices twice;
- Driving into oncoming traffic lanes twice;
- Failing to yield the right-of-way to pedestrians twice;
- Exceeding the speed limit by 40 to 80 km/h five times.
Asset Confiscation for Aggressive Driving
For aggressive driving or "road thuggery" committed by an individual who either lacks a valid driver's license or has already been stripped of their driving privileges, the bill proposes the permanent confiscation or temporary impoundment of the vehicle.
The head of the Traffic Safety Service emphasized that asset confiscation serves as a powerful deterrent against individuals who flagrantly disregard statutory laws and fail to reform their behavior following standard judicial penalties. However, in line with humanitarian provisions, a vehicle will not be confiscated if it is the sole vehicle owned by the offender's family and remains vital to maintaining their baseline livelihood.
Furthermore, temporary vehicle impoundment will be introduced as a mandatory penalty for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, as well as for refusing to submit to a lawful sobriety test.
The bill also proposes a major structural amendment to the Criminal Code, lowering the age of criminal liability from 16 to 14 for offenses under Article 266—which governs criminal violations of traffic safety and transit operational rules. Murodbek Sherliev maintained that lowering this legal threshold is critical to cultivating a culture of compliance among adolescents at an earlier age, ultimately reducing the number of catastrophic road casualties involving youth.
Following the floor debate, lawmakers passed the draft legislation in its first reading. The bill will now undergo further revisions to incorporate lawmakers' feedback ahead of its second reading.
Stay up to date with all the latest news:
