Proposed Mitigation of Penalties for Absence of Vehicle License Plates

Gevorg Papoyan, a member of the National Assembly from the "My Step" faction, has presented a draft law to parliament proposing to mitigate the penalties established for the absence of one of a vehicle's license plates.

According to the current legislative framework, if one or both license plates are missing from a vehicle, the driver is deprived of the right to drive for one year in both cases. Papoyan suggests that if only one license plate is absent, a much milder administrative penalty should be applied: a fine of 20,000 drams and two points deducted from their driving score for violating traffic rules.

The legislator agrees that a stricter approach should be taken when both license plates are missing, as he pointed out that there is a risk that such vehicles and the individuals inside them could be involved in serious crimes. In Papoyan's view, the absence of one license plate often occurs due to the driver's negligence or because roads may be in poor condition, causing the plate to fall off. “I believe that comparing these two cases is not fair,” he emphasized.

Gagik Abovyan, a member of the Prosperous Armenia faction, noted that the draft implies a dual penalty: a point deduction system and a monetary fine. He asked Papoyan whether it would be possible to avoid the point system altogether and retain only the monetary penalty. “If a person is willing to stop their vehicle, remove the plates, and drive at high speed, even that point system won’t stop them. Don’t you think that here too, citizens of Armenia who, for example, have lost their license plates suffer?” Abovyan inquired.

Papoyan responded that if the law remains as it currently is, citizens will suffer more. At the same time, he indicated that he is open to discussing the proposal to apply a lower point penalty, and if there are valid arguments for applying just one point, he would consider that suggestion.

“There are cases where violations occur due to factors beyond people's control, but there are also cases that are done maliciously. If we encounter such situations, we must impose a certain just punishment. In Armenia, there are roads where speed cameras only capture images from the front, and a citizen, knowing this, might remove their front license plate and drive recklessly, jeopardizing their own life and the lives of others in the community. Therefore, we have established two points within that context,” the MP explained, adding that this is primarily a matter of civility and responsibility to avoid violations.