Friday, December 22 2017 16:57

ArmInfo.Opponents of the bill to ban on the importation of right- hand cars to Armenia on December 22 went on protest. Participants of the march in Yerevan demand to  withdraw the legislative initiative of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and IT. The protesters went to the Ministry of Transport.

As the coordinator of the right-hand Initiative Gevorg Achemyan  stated in his conversation with journalists, the proposals will be  submitted only after the authorities withdraw the draft decision. On  the eve, the head of the Ministry of Transport Vahan Martirosyan  expressed his readiness to meet with representatives of the "Right  Hand Drive" initiative.

Talks about a possible ban on the import and exploitation of  right-hand drive vehicles are not being discussed in Armenia for the  first time. However, to this day there is no legal act regarding the  suspension of the use of right-hand drive vehicles, the introduction  of restrictions or requirements for owners of such vehicles. A new  impetus to the initiative to ban, according to rumors, was given by  major importers of cars, which in the summer 2017 "opened their eyes"  to officials on the danger of these cars. It was by the results of  these meetings that the Ministry of Transport started new discussions  in this direction with the participation of all interested parties.  As Minister of Transport, Communication and Information Technologies  Vahan Martirosyan noted in the Armenian parliament, such cars are  dangerous, since many traffic accidents are recorded with their  participation (although no official statistics have been submitted so  far).

Earlier, responding to the question of ArmInfo, the deputy chairman  of the human rights organization Driver's friend, David Pedanyan,  stated that the initiators of the program are likely to be large  importers of vehicles. According to him, the initiative should also  be considered in the context of the business project of those who, as  a result of the ban, will deal with the technical side of the issue,  namely, the conversion of cars from the right to the left wheel,  because the price of the issue is $ 700-1000. Noting that at present  there is no official statistics in Armenia about the accident with  the participation of right-hand drive vehicles, the expert called  cunning that the basis for this idea is the safety factor.