New road safety measures set for Georgia

Safety measures on Georgian roads will be enhanced after a recent increase in the number of road accidents. The new transport regulations will be enforced under the initiative of the Georgian Transport Agency and the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development. The transport law amendment will be presented to the parliament for discussion and adoption this autumn.

According to the new regulations the main restrictions will refer to passenger vehicles [Buses, Microbuses] which should not exceed 20 years age from the date of production. As for imported vehicles, importers will be obliged to import the passenger vehicles aged at a maximum of 15 years.

The safety measures however will not only be limited to vehicle standards, but also will envisage drivers’ mandatory medical examination and age limit, which according to the new amendment will not exceed 65 years.

Reportedly, the main restriction will be the age of the buses - those which are already in Georgia, will be taken out of circulation if they are older than 20 years.

The head of the Transport Agency Davit Meskhishvili says the goal of the new initiative is to provide maximum security on roads and to protect the rights of passengers to travel safely.

Analyst Gia Khukhashvili described the new amendments as absurd. The analyst mentioned that discriminating by age was not the right approach," as there might be someone at the age of 65 in better health condition, than some others younger than him. It would be better if there were some regular health inspections for drivers, which would clarify who should work and who should not, " Khukhashvili mentioned and added that nearly the same situation exists with the age of transport," there are some cars and firms whose products can last for years, when there are some others which break down after a few years. There needs to be further thought given to this proposal."