Smart Cameras Detect 6,654 Uninspected Cars in 4 Days
From January 14 to January 17, when the so-called smart cameras were involved in detecting uninspected cars, police imposed 6,654 fines on drivers.
"Until the activation of smart cameras, the number of fines from January 1 to 15 was 2,420, said Beka Liluashvili, Head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Research and Reforms Division.
He said the aim of the smart cameras was to increase the efficiency of execution mechanisms.
“Many cars had a legal obligation to go through technical inspection, but it did not happen, so we got the smart cameras going alongside the work done by police officers,” he said, noting that the tightened measures had increased the number of cars that were taken to technical inspection centers for obligatory inspection.
“Where before there were around 600 records of technical inspection in the centers, after the measures were tightened, this indicator has increased five times,” he added.
If a car has not undergone technical inspection, the driver will be fined GEL 50 and legal entities by GEL 200 every month until they undergo inspection.
Obligatory technical inspection of vehicles took effect on January 1, 2018. The first stage required trucks of over 3.5 tons and passenger cars with more than eight seats to undergo safety checks.
The second stage launched on July 1, 2018, required all vehicles registered to state entities to undergo a mandatory check, which was followed by the third stage from October 1.
From October 1, 2018, the third stage of mandatory technical inspections of vehicles was launched in Georgia, envisaging inspection of all automobiles with 3.0 engines and above.
From January 1, 2019, the government launched the final phase of the campaign that requires all other vehicles to undergo mandatory testing.
Vehicles which are four years old or less do not have to undergo an inspection. Cars that are four-six years old have to undergo testing once every two years and cars older than six years have to be tested every year.
Under the Georgia-EU Association Agreement signed in 2014, Georgia is obligated to ensure all vehicles are in line with EU standards.
By Thea Morrison