34 years without a driver’s license and the threat of imprisonment: the Supreme Court explained the dangers of ignoring the ban on driving

In Ukraine, courts can impose dozens of years of deprivation of the right to drive vehicles on drivers who systematically violate traffic rules. In some cases, the terms exceed 30 years. However, repeated ignoring of a court ban can lead not only to new fines, but also to criminal liability with a penalty of up to three years of imprisonment.

Why are drivers deprived of their rights for dozens of years

According to Part Three of Article 30 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses, if a person who has already been deprived of the right to drive vehicles commits a new violation, the unserved term of the previous one may be added to the new penalty.

It is because of the accumulation of such terms that courts impose bans on drivers for 20, 30 and even more than 34 years.

One such case was considered by the Gorodnyanskyi District Court of Chernihiv Region in case No. 732/944/26.

The man was driving a VAZ-21013, although he had previously received multiple court bans. In particular, in April 2026, he was sentenced to 29 years, eight months and 11 days of deprivation of the right to drive.

Despite this, the offender got behind the wheel again.

The court established that the man had never received a driver’s license at all.

For the repeated violation, he was fined 40,800 hryvnias and deprived of the right to drive for five years. After adding the unserved term of the previous penalty, the final ban was 34 years, six months and 19 days.

Almost 30 years behind the wheel after previous violations

Similar decisions were made by other Ukrainian courts.

In particular, the Rivne City Court in case No. 569/17736/26 considered the case of driving an Opel Vectra by a man who had already been deprived of his driver’s license.

During the stop, the police found signs of drug intoxication in the driver, but he refused to undergo a medical examination.

Taking into account the unserved terms under previous resolutions, the court sentenced him to 29 years, 11 months and 22 days of deprivation of the right to drive.

Another case was recorded in the Zhytomyr region.

The man was driving a ZAZ-1102 car with signs of alcohol intoxication, did not have a driver’s license and refused to undergo an examination.

The Narodytskyi District Court sentenced him to a fine of 51 thousand hryvnias and, taking into account the previous unserved fine, 29 years, four months and 29 days of deprivation of the right to drive.

Can a person who has never received a driver’s license be deprived of his or her rights

This issue raises different approaches in judicial practice.

Thus, the Gorodnyanskyi District Court applied the position of the Supreme Court, according to which deprivation of the right to drive is possible even for a person who has not previously received a driver’s license.

At the same time, the Talnivskyi District Court of Cherkasy Region in case No. 704/1426/26 came to a different conclusion.

The court considered the case of a man who repeatedly drove an unregistered Honda Dio scooter without a license of the appropriate category.

The judge noted that it is impossible to deprive a person of the right to drive if he or she was not previously granted such a right.

Thus, in judicial practice there are different approaches to the application of this type of administrative penalty.

Supreme Court: ignoring the ban can lead to imprisonment

In addition to administrative liability, the legislation provides for criminal punishment for intentional failure to comply with a court decision.

The Supreme Court confirmed the corresponding position in case No. 347/828/25.

The man was driving a car in Kosov, Ivano-Frankivsk region, although he knew about the current court ban.

Initially, the court imposed a fine of 8,500 hryvnias on him. However, the appellate court increased the sentence to one year of imprisonment, releasing the convict from serving it with a one-year probation period.

The Supreme Court left this decision unchanged.

The judges emphasized that deliberate ignoring of the court-imposed ban on driving vehicles may be qualified as intentional failure to comply with a court decision under Part One of Article 382 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

What punishment does the violator face?

Part one of Article 382 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine provides for a fine of 8,500 to 17,000 hryvnias or imprisonment for a term of up to three years for intentional failure to comply with a court decision.

At the same time, criminal liability does not arise automatically after each case of driving without a license.

To be held liable, it is necessary to establish that:

the court decision has entered into legal force;

the driver knew about the established ban;

the person intentionally did not comply with the court decision.

The Supreme Court also explained that administrative liability for driving after deprivation of the right does not exclude the possibility of criminal prosecution for intentional failure to comply with a court decision, if all the elements of the relevant crime are proven.