Thursday, May 16 2019 13:44

ArmInfo. New traffic safety mechanisms will be introduced in Armenia. The amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses and the package of related laws were approved at the May 16 meeting of the RA Government.

According to the Deputy Chief of the RA Police Hovhannes Kocharyan,  the amendments provide for a reduction in penalties on 26 types of  offenses out of 100 previously approved. At the same time, as the  Deputy Chief of the Police said, in cases the rate will decrease by  50%, and in 7 cases - below 50%. This will allow the citizens of the  country to save about 2.7 billion drams. At the same time, as  Hovhannes Kocharyan noted, the growth of traffic accidents continues  to cause concern. In this regard, the package provides for reforming  the road safety system. Each driver who received a driver's license  at the beginning of the year will be provided with 9 points, which  will subsequently decrease, depending on the severity of the offense,  from 3 to 5 points.

In case of a repeated offense, the driver will be deprived of the  right to drive a vehicle for a period of 6 months; after this period,  he will be able to return the driver's license with 9 points. The  driver will have to know that during the next accident he may lose  his rights for a period of 1 year. The package provides for the  procedure for retraining drivers. So, in case of deprivation of a  driver's license for a period of 6 months, a driver who has been  trained for at least three months will be able to return a driver's  license before the deadline. In the presence of 3-4 points the driver  will also, having completed the training, will get the opportunity to  return 2 points. In fact, the fine of 5 thousand drams is equal to  withdrawal of 1 point, 20-25 drams - 2 points, with a decrease of 4  points, we are talking only about two cases - speeding and death of  people. Hovhannes Kocharyan also stressed that the requirement for  mandatory technical inspection of the car will remain in force, but  the requirement for a coupon on the windshield of the vehicle will  become optional.

At the same time, the package provides for tougher measures of  responsibility for committing particularly dangerous offenses on the  roads, leading, among other things, to the death of people. So,  responsibility for driving a car without a driver's license is  becoming tougher. In this case, a fine of 200-300 thousand drams or 3  months in prison is imposed, with the deprivation of the right to  work during the year. When driving while drunk, the fine will be  300-500 thousand drams or imprisonment for 6 months with the  deprivation of the right to work during the year. The Deputy Chief of  Police said that the overwhelming majority of offenses are related to  driving while intoxicated. According to statistics, in 2017 drunk  drivers committed offenses that led to the death of 15 people, in  2018 - the 23rd. At the same time, in 2017, 217 people suffered in  accidents caused by drunk drivers, and in 2018 - 326. The package,  which will take effect six months after publication, also provides  for other liability measures.