Vehicle Inspection Advancements

"From January to date, 90,000 vehicles have undergone compulsory periodic technical inspections, 24,000 of which failed the test at the first attempt," said Vazha Iordanishvili, Head of the Association of Automobile Inspection.

Mandatory periodic technical inspections started in Georgia from January 1, 2018. The cost of inspection for cars is 60 GEL (about $23). In the event that a car fails the test the first time, its owner is given a 30-day period to fix the identified problems. Re-inspection is free.

"I think the existence of up to 27% of cars with malfunctions is quite a high figure. We are talking about the first inspection attempt: every fourth car does not pass inspection the first time," Iordanishvili noted.

Refusal to re-check is due to the fact that the country does not strictly monitor the serviceability of cars on the roads, and officers of the patrol police who are charged with checking the presence of a vehicle inspection certificate do not penalize drivers. In addition, the owners of cars sometimes claim they do not have time to fix the problems within in 30 days.

“Thus, on the roads, we get the result that only patrol inspectors are responsible for administering. If we look at the work that patrol inspectors have to do, who, in addition to road safety, do other work, we will see that they cannot stop and check all cars," Iordanishvili added.

From November 2017, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia began to install smart cameras that automatically note violations and write out a fine to the driver. The Head of the Association of Automobile Inspection believes that if smart cameras are equipped with the function of identifying vehicles that have not undergone mandatory inspection, the situation on the roads will improve.

"We have heard that before going for an inspection, drivers fill their vehicles with better quality fuel, change the filters, and unfairly add certain mixtures to fuel [for better environmental performance]. They go to centers in this relatively improved condition and pass. Therefore, on the roads there should be appropriate monitoring of such of cars, from which smoke or exhaust fumes are clearly visible,” the expert stressed.

As a way out of this situation, Iordanishvili suggests that the Georgian authorities adopt the experience of the United States, where special indicators are installed on the roads which automatically measure the quantity and quality of exhaust gases of cars.

"A proven method in the United States is that there are indicators on the roads that measure the exhaust of a car so that it is not necessary to stop it. Its identification takes place basedon the license plate. With such devices, we will get quite a better result. I hope this will be discussed. by the Committee for Environmental Protection, I think the decision will be made in a timely manner,” he concluded.