UrBC, Yekaterinburg, January 20, 2016. 2,467 people living in Sverdlovsk Region were officially warned that their driver’s licenses could get annulled if they have more than 10,000 RUR worth of debts, the local division of Russia’s Federal Service of Court Officers reports.

‘First court warrants limiting their driving rights have already been given to twenty-two debtors; fourteen of them owe money in terms of unpaid child support (2.256m RUR altogether) and eight have failed to pay damages for the infliction of emotional distress (755,000 RUR altogether).

The amendments to the Federal Enforcement Proceedings Act allowing court officers to temporarily annul driver’s licenses of debtors with over 10,000 RUR worth of unpaid debts came into effect on January 15. The measure will, for example, be applied to persistent non-payers of child support (upon the court’s ruling) and to people who fail to pay their traffic tickets.

Some 300,000 Russian drivers not paying their debts now risk losing their driver’s license for a while; this limitation applies to air pilot’s and yacht skipper’s licenses as well. Professional drivers/chauffeurs and drivers with disabilities are exempt from the new law.