Chapter 10 - part 1 - Contraventions and offences

If you cannot/do not want to watch the AUDIO-VIDEO version of the course, you can read the text version illustrated with images.

Text version Chapter 10 - part 1 - Contraventions and offences

THE OFFENCE: the particularly serious act, which presents a social danger, being committed with guilt and which is provided by the criminal law and is punished by it.

THE CONTRAVENTION: any failure to comply with a traffic rule, provided that it is not an offence, having a lower degree of social danger than the offence.

We must understand the following four terms from the very beginning:

• Retention of the driving licence - is the confiscation of the driving licence by the traffic police and its retention until the case that led to the retention is resolved.
  Example: the traffic police officer takes your driving licence (with a view to suspending your right to drive) and issues you a temporary replacement document with the right to drive for 15 days. During this period, you can drive;
• Suspension of the exercise of the right to drive - is the temporary prohibition of the right to drive, usually for 30, 60, 90 or 120 days. In the cases provided by law, the suspension may also be longer, including through the extension or accumulation of periods.
  Example: your right to drive is suspended for 60 days. You cannot drive during this period;
• Cancellation of the driving licence - is the termination of the validity of the driving licence. In order to drive again, the holder must obtain a new driving licence, under the conditions provided by law.
  Example: the driving licence is cancelled under the conditions provided by law. You do not get it back simply through the passage of time; you must obtain a new one.
• Withdrawal of the driving licence - is carried out through the retention of the driving licence and the prohibition of the right to drive, including in the case of medical or psychological unfitness. The driving licence may be regained after the causes that led to the withdrawal have ceased, under the conditions provided by law.
  Example: you are declared medically unfit to drive. You can no longer drive, and the driving licence may be returned after legal confirmation that the medical condition has ceased.

We must remember that, in the case of suspension, cancellation and withdrawal, the driving licence is retained before these measures are applied.

In short:

• Retention = the document is taken away.
• Suspension = the exercise of the right to drive is temporarily prohibited.
• Cancellation = the driving licence is no longer valid; a new one must be obtained.
• Withdrawal = the driving licence is taken away and driving is prohibited until the cause has ceased, under the conditions provided by law.

The most important difference: the retention of the driving licence does not automatically mean the suspension of the right to drive. A driving licence may also be retained with the issuance of a temporary replacement document that grants the right to drive.