President holds consultation on results of research conducted in RA Road Police

RA President Serzh Sargsyan held today a consultation to discuss the results of the research conducted by the RA Presidential Oversight Service in the RA Road Police. The consultation was attended by RA Police Chief Vladimir Gasparyan, Yerevan Mayor Taron Margaryan, Finance Minister Gagik Khachatryan, the Head of the Presidential Oversight Service, Hovhannes Hovsepyan, Mihran Poghosyan, Chief Compulsory Enforcement Officer, Road Police Chief Armen Hakobyan, the head of the research group, Armen Sakapetoyan, and the founder of Security Dream Co. Ltd., Gurgen Zakaryan.

“I think that it is time for us to sum up certain results, highlight the positive, as well as the flaws and shortcomings, outline the paths that will eliminate those flaws and will bring some clarity into this issue. All of you remember that when the video cameras started to be installed, including the speedometers, the records of the mentioned equipment were so many that some people became doubtful. But experts said that in a short period of time that number will fall, and it turned out that way. After some time the records were reduced by 70 percent which means that if not by 70 percent, but the infringements of traffic regulations were considerably reduced. However, it is such a process that if we fail to pay undivided attention, our achievements can soon disappear, and as a result, we will pursue a sole purpose of collecting fines. Hence, I think that we must address a very important issue – we must try to change the atmosphere. This is the most important one, and we must try to form a positive attitude towards those very records among all the participants of traffic. Firstly, if the driver gets angry, then he should accepts his own mistake, and understand that it is done first of all to ensure his, as well as other people’s security. It is done so that the guests of our republic and capital can feel themselves safe, so that they can see the order prevailing in our republic and our Yerevan. But in order for us to accomplish this, we have to address two vital issues. Both are related to justice: firstly, we must try to differentiate between flagrant infringements and those infringements that people consider paltry, viewing them as a means to exact money from them. I repeat once again that fines are just a means to pursue our goal. Fining is not a goal. By paltry infringements I mean first of all, for example, the so called solid line break. Is it a so gross infringement or not to break those solid lines in the section for cars moving in one direction? At least, it is necessary to consult with experts to see whether we have paid much attention to our roads and highways and whether we have drawn all those markings duly to ensure comfort, or we have done so to collect more fines. This is a very important issue. And secondly, it is obvious that people may get angry when they stand in a car line and suddenly some cars pass by at a high speed and those cars are often called, so to speak, operative cars, cars that have a privilege, and to my surprise, there are many cars with foreign registration numbers among them. Why do cars with foreign registration numbers have a privilege in our country? What is the reason or why do we have so many, so to speak, operative cars or cars with operative registration numbers? Do we really have so many operative workers and is it necessary for every operative worker to run such a car? It is clear that people may get angry with this, is not it? I can’t understand when relatives of high-ranking officials or their family members run such cars the registration numbers of which are taken from another car. To study these issues, I instructed the RA Presidential Oversight Service in June to conduct a comprehensive research and present its results. Now we will listen to the results of the research conducted by the division headed by Mr. Hovsepyan. In the end, of course, I will give instructions so that we can gain intermediate results at least at this stage, and everybody can see our true purpose and forget about the means, namely the fine,” said Armenia’s president in his opening remarks.

The head of the RA Presidential Oversight Service, Hovhannes Hovsepyan, reported the numerical data of the research conducted on the instructions of the president, as well as the directions of urgent issues based on selective studies and the ways to correct them. “We know that the record of paltry infringements and fining, as well as the inconveniences stemming from the order of fine appeal and the double finings resulted from technical issues have prompted much discussion and have raised great problems among drivers, that require urgent solutions, which is confirmed by our studies. In addition to them, during my report I will also make proposals and arguments with regard to the record of infringements and its drafting process, particularly to numerous infringements of cars with foreign registration numbers, the improvement of the electronic register of the Road Police, the infringements of special means of transport, the solution of issues identified along the entire chain of fine exactions, as well as to the peculiarities of violations of traffic regulations committed by separate, so to speak, agile drivers through new “cunning actions,” will draw conclusions and present some data and proposals,” said the head of the Presidential Oversight Service, Hovhannes Hovsepyan, at the beginning of the report.

During the consultation, the RA president gave a number of instructions based on the results of studies. Particularly, the RA police chief was instructed to closely observe the problems in the traffic regulation sphere, coordinate the course of reforms and establish a commission for proposal of promising programs, by engaging different government bodies and representatives of civil society.

Facilitate the appeal and revision process of administrative acts resulted from violations of traffic regulations, by also installing an electronic appeal system.

Eliminate the flaws and shortcomings existing in the Road Police register, as well as adopt a respective legal act to define the authority limits of users of Road Police register and of those who can change it.

Review the circles of people using “Special Registration Numbers,” ruling out further exploitation of cars engaged in administrative-economic and technical works of respective bodies as cars with “special registration numbers.”

Take account of unregistered registration numbers allocated for government bodies.

The RA Police, the RA MoJ CESJA and the RA CB were instructed to draft, present to the commission envisioned in the first article for discussion and introduce a system to replace fines for unintended infringements with warning message, as well as to rule out the cases of double fine payments.

The RA Police and the bodies using operative registration numbers were instructed to rule out the cases of providing persons bearing no relations to operative-intelligence activities with operative registration numbers, as well as the cases of purposeless usage of those numbers by competent persons.

The RA Police, the RA Investigative Committee and the RA Special Investigation Service were instructed to legally regulate the order to change the mailing addresses of administrative acts, rule out the unreasoned cases of changing mailing addresses and present the materials to the RA investigative bodies for legal assessment.

The RA Ministry of Finance, the RA Police and the RA National Security Service were instructed to reveal the cases of illegal border crossing of cars with foreign registration and rule out such cases.

The RA Ministry of Finance and the RA Police were instructed to notify non-residents arriving in the RA about the record of infringements via video and photo recording equipment and about their possible consequences, as well as discuss the issue of transferring the customs-based information about citizens crossing the RA customs border by cars and about means of transport to the electronic system of the RA Road Police and of integrating the electronic systems with each other, and ensure its implementation.