UrBC, Yekaterinburg, July 18, 2016. 6,250 people living in Sverdlovsk Region have been officially warned that their driver’s license might be taken away from them temporarily unless they pay their debts, the local division of Russia’s Federal Service of Court Officers reports.

‘This has already proven effective. Most of the people who have a driver’s license would like to keep it at all costs, so a warning usually suffices to make people try and find the money necessary to pay their debts,’ the division’s press officer says.

2,283 debtors had their driver’s licenses withdrawn by court officers temporarily in January-June 2016; most of these debts pertain to unpaid child support; 237 people get traffic fines very frequently; and 104 people have to pay damages resulting from a crime/offense.