Armenia`s government to toughen penalties for traffic rules violation 

ArmInfo.  The Armenian  authorities want to increase the number of penalty points for  violating traffic rules from the current 9 to 13. At a meeting on  March 20, the RA National Assembly Committee on Defense and Security  gave a positive opinion on the draft amendments to the Code of  Administrative Offenses submitted by a group of NA deputies in the  second and final reading.

Presenting the document, co-author of the legislative initiative, NA  deputy from the ruling Civil Contract faction Armen Khachatryan  emphasized that several proposals had been received from colleagues  by the second reading, the adoption of which would have radically  changed the essence of the initiative. For this reason, it was  decided to keep the existing requirements for now, and in the future,  try to solve the existing problems in the field of road traffic with  separate bills. In particular, as Khachatryan noted, parliamentary  hearings on this issue are planned for April 3, to which all  responsible persons will be invited. The deputy pointed out the  importance of developing a strategy in the area of road traffic, in  which all areas of responsibility should be distributed.

According to the document presented, currently, a person who has the  right to drive vehicles is given 9 points for a period of one year.  Often, especially for drivers engaged in passenger and freight  transportation, the issued 9 points are not enough, which leads to  more serious social problems. According to statistics, from 2020 to  May 31, 2024, 14,365 drivers were deprived of the right to drive  vehicles due to the expiration of penalty points, and 628 people were  deprived of the right to drive vehicles due to a repeated deprivation  in the same year.

According to the proposed amendment, a person who has the right to  drive a vehicle is allocated 13 points for one year. Increasing the  points awarded to a driver for a period of one year will ease the  social burden on drivers. At the same time, liability measures are  being tightened that clearly have no social context, but are due to  motives for marginal behavior. In particular, we are talking about  violating the rules on the transparency of glass, not wearing seat  belts, using a phone while driving, crossing the dividing strip,  driving into the oncoming lane and driving a vehicle while  intoxicated. Tightening the penalty points for these administrative  offenses will emphasize the targeted approach of the state, prevent  risks, facilitate the targeted use of penalty units, which will lead  to a decrease in road accidents.

Earlier it was noted that in 2024, 4814 accidents were recorded, as a  result of which 333 people died, 6116 were injured. The bill will  come into force on May 1, 2025.