Gov’t looks to postpone registration ban for right-hand drive vehicles
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Monday, January 18
Registration restrictions for right-hand drive vehicles that were scheduled to come into effect from March this year will be delayed, according to the government.
However, according to the Prime Minister of Georgia, Giorgi Kvirikashvili, the Government will still take action to impose bans on the registration of such vehicles.
According to the authorities, the number of the right-hand drive vehicles is doubling annually, and will eventually cause changes in the national infrastructure.
Herewith, the Government says that in each developed country, the number of right-and drive cars does not exceed 10% of the total number of vehicles registered there.
The opposition and businesses oppose the registration ban, as according to them, the vehicles cause less damage to the environment as they are modern cars, and there are no statistics proving that such vehicles are responsible for causing accidents.
The dealers of right-hand drive vehicles have stated that are already facing losses, as when the Government announced the restriction more than a month ago, the demand on the cars has decreased.
According to lawmakers, the draft of changes produced by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia concerning various changes to ease transport-related complications in the country still needs to be closely studied to meet the interests of both the population and the businesses.
At the same time, the Government stressed no other restrictions but registration would be introduced for right-hand drive vehicles, and owners who have already registered and drive their right-hand drive vehicle in Georgia will not face any problems.
The PM reiterated that the owners of right-hand drive vehicles, who have already registered their cars, will face no problems even when they sell the vehicle.
“However, with it comes to the import of the right-hand drive vehicles, we will not take a step back and will necessarily address the issue.
“We must take action, as it is in the public interest. We must take various steps to settle the horrible transport problems, especially in the capital city.”
The PM highlighted that without restrictions on transport - not only on right-hand drive vehicles - the capital city would suffer serious risks to health and safety on the roads.
In this context, the PM also addressed the reduction the effects of vehicle emissions created by older cars.
