MOSCOW, July 27 (RAPSI) - Vitaly Zolochevsky, a lawmaker in Russian lower house of parliament, the State Duma, has submitted a bill to suspend driver’s license for leaving a child in a car unattended, according to the lower house’s website.

Zolochevsky says it is necessary to supplement the Code of Administrative Offenses with an article under which parents who leave a child under 14 inside a car would lose their driver’s license for one to two years and be fined of up to 100,000 rubles ($1,700).

The bill’s author explains that “it wouldn’t be crime if a driver gets out of the car and leaves a child inside for a couple of minutes before taking the child with them.” However, if a child is left in the car on purpose while a parent goes shopping, for example, it should be considered an offense.

Zolochevsky argues that there have been a number of high-profile incidents when children were left in cars alone that have led to tragic consequences. “A child left in a car might not just cause harm to the vehicle, injure himself or cause an accident, or even be deprived of oxygen in a closed space, but, as has happened, he could also suffer from lack of water or fresh air.”