New sanctions to come into play for violating traffic rules
By Tea Mariamidze
Friday, May 31
New penalties will be introduced in Georgia for the drivers who violate the traffic rules. The Parliament approved the amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses regarding new sanctions on May 29.
The amendments read that the movement, stopping or standing in the in the bus lanes will be subjected to a fine of 100 GEL.
Also, movement, stopping or standing by other means of transport on a bicycle path or hindering bicycle movement, will be fined by GEL 50.
Moreover, stopping or standing on the path of the vehicle without a registration number, internal transit, transit number, or "TEST" number will be subject to a fine of 100 GEL.
Fine will increase from the current 10 GEL to 50 GEL for parking in spots for people with disabilities. The bill reads that violation of the rule was so frequent that there was a need to provide a stricter measure.
The Parliament also adopted the draft law on amendments to the Tax Code of Georgia with the third reading, which suggests that the excise rate in the case of left-handed hybrid motor cars will be decreased by 60 percent. In the case of the hybrid vehicles that have a steering wheel on the right side, the excise rate will be decreased by 20 percent.
Early last month the Interior Ministry of Georgia launched a new campaign for raising awareness on road safety and also installed cameras observing bicycle and bus lanes in Tbilisi.
According to data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, 6,079 road accidents occurred in 2017, which claimed 517 lives. The number of road accidents reached 6,452 in 2018 with 459 dead and 9,047 injured.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs has reported that deaths in car accidents decreased by 22.6% in March. Traffic accidents, in general, fell 4.5% during the month and injuries went down by 10%.
In recent months, a few measures have been implemented to fight against traffic accidents and deaths, including a drastic increase in the number of road and highway cameras and an awareness campaign.
However, police have detected a 127% increase of mobile phone usage by drivers and a rise of 106% in drivers not wearing seatbelts. Over the past ten years, 6,608 people died, and 85,946 were injured from road traffic accidents across the country.
