
Traffic Fines in Armenia and Other Post-Soviet Countries
Armenia’s National Assembly and the government are currently discussing how much to fine motorists who violate traffic rules in the country. Let’s compare the fines now in force in Armenia, Russia and Ukraine for comparative purposes.
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Speeding |
10.000 AMD |
0 |
0 |
Speeding |
30,000 AMD |
300 Rubles |
250 Hryvnia |
Speeding |
50,000AMD |
1,000 Rubles |
510 Hryvnia |
Second speeding |
no such fineՆ |
2,500 Rubles ($70.22) |
no such fine |
Driving thru red light |
20,000AMD |
1,000 Rubles
|
425 Hryvnia |
Driving thru red light |
no such fine |
5,000 Rubles
|
no such fine |
Recidivism
In Russia and most of the world, however, rules are in force that dramatically increase the accountability of drivers that periodically violate traffic laws.
That’s to say that if you were to drive through a red light in Armenia every day, you would be fined 20,000 AMD for each violation. But in Russia, the first violation would cost you 11,000 rubles and the second time 55,000 rubles. Further violations would lead to you being stripped of your driver’s license.
It makes sense. One might drive through a red light accidentally once or twice a year, but motorists who make a habit of this are considered dangerous drivers. Armenia once had such a system of stripping dangerous motorists of their licenses but it was scrapped years ago, allowing bad drivers to merely pay a fine every time.
Fines based on a driver’s ability to pay
While traffic fines in Armenia are regarded as a way for the traffic police to get rich, they are supposed to act as a deterrent to motorists. However, regardless of the country, there are those for whom fines are a nuisance and for whom they constitute a heavy financial burden. Some can pay, others can’t
To level the playing field, as it were, Switzerland and some other countries have set fines based on the motorist’s revenue. It’s akin to a progressive tax rate – the more you make, the more you pay.
Maybe something similar can be tried in Armenia. For example, basing fines based on the price of the car being driven or on its horsepower.
Naturally, such a system would increase the work of traffic cops and patrol cars would have to be outfitted with computers to pull up such information on cars pulled over for violations.
Wouldn’t such a system make sense in an attempt to achieve socio-economic equality?
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