Activists of Right-Hand Drive initiative demand to allow import of  right-hand drive vehicles until 2020

ArmInfo. The Ministry of  Transport, Communications and IT of Armenia held a discussion on the  ban on the importation of right-hand drive cars into the republic. 

According to the press service of the department, activists of the  Right-Hand Drive initiative insist on revising the current order,  demanding to allow the import of vehicles with the right-hand drive  until 2020.  Meanwhile, according to the information, during the  discussion several solutions were proposed for the problem: the right  to import such cars with the further possibility of replacing the  helm on the left side, with the right to transit in order to be sold  in a third country and, third, to import cars as spare parts.

After a two-hour discussion, it was decided to return to the question  after a detailed study of the proposed options.

Yesterday in a conversation with reporters Acting Minister of  Transport, Communication and Information Technologies Hakob  Arshakyan, once again reminded that the movement in Armenia has been  adjusted and designed for vehicles with left-hand drive. In this  context, in his words, "right handed vehicles" in Armenia can lead to  frequent accidents. However, the Acting Minister stated, he opposes  the idea of giving time to the owners of right-hand drive vehicles in  order to replace the steering wheel location, since there are no  control mechanisms for exactly how this will be done - by a private  master or by a licensed organization that will be responsible for  possible negative consequences.

To recall, starting from April 1, 2018 the import of right-hand drive  vehicles into Armenia is prohibited.  Already on October 1, the ban  will operate within the requirements of the technical regulations of  the Customs Union. Initially, under public pressure, it was planned  to ban the import of right-hand drive cars temporarily. But later the  government removed the word "temporary" from the draft law, and the  Armenian parliament on March 1, 2018 approved the document in the  second and final reading.  To note, experts consider that linking the  ban on the import of right-hand drive cars with the need to ensure  safety on the roads is not justified. According to the data of the RA  Traffic Police, in 2017 there were 2553 accidents registered in  Armenia, of which 253 accidents occurred with the participation of  right-hand drive vehicles, which is only 10% of the total number of  road violations.