Civil Sector Requests Tightening of Technical Inspection

Eka Laliashvili, the head of the Alliance of Safe Roads of Georgia, says that technical inspection of vehicles in Georgia is not tough enough and it may pose threat to the Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze’s new Green Policy reform.

Laliashvili says that one of the parts of the Green Policy is a technical inspection of vehicles, adding the PM did not mention this issue while presenting the project on October 22.

“Nowadays, one of the air pollutants is cars and the technical inspection that is being carried out today is under serious risks and threats. We know that violations were revealed in this field lately,” she noted.

The head of the NGO says that PM’s Green Policy, which envisages the introduction of 2000 electric cars in the near future, is good but the main emphasis should be placed on the current situation.

“If the mandatory technical inspection fails, it will cause the failure of the Green Policy project as well,” Laliashvili stressed.

According to her, the state has to tighten the technical inspection, adding it should be conducted in the streets too.

“Inspection can be administered in the street using appropriate technologies, but it needs financial resources. If the PM is ready to take control of this issue, of course, some finances could be found for the technical implementation. Only patrol police cannot do this. Other technical means should also be involved like it is in other countries, otherwise the reform will fail,” she explained.

Several days ago the Investigation Service of the Ministry of Finance released information on fraud that was discovered in the vehicle technical inspection centers.

A statement from the Investigative Service said that, as a result of investigative activities, 10 centers for vehicle technical inspection have been identified in the regions of Tbilisi, Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti, Imereti, Kakheti and Mtskheta-Mtianeti, whose employees have been falsifying passing inspection reports for municipal and privately-owned vehicles.

An investigation is underway under Article 362 and Article 221 (2) of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which envisages from four to six years in prison.

On October 1, 2018, the third stage of mandatory technical inspections of vehicles was launched in Georgia, envisaging inspection of all automobiles with 3.0 engines and above.

Obligatory technical inspection of vehicles took effect on January 1, 2018. The first stage required trucks of over 3.5 tons and passenger cars with more than 8 seats to undergo safety checks.

The second stage launched on July 1, 2018, required all vehicles registered to state entities to undergo a mandatory check, which was followed by the third stage from October 1.

Beginning January 1, 2019, the government expects to launch the final phase of the campaign and require all other vehicles to undergo mandatory testing.