The Ministry of Internal Affairs Issues a Statement Addressing Drivers

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Armenia has issued an announcement urging drivers not to fall for videos spreading misinformation on social media. “Recently, a video has been circulating on one of the social networks, prefaced as an ‘educational video,’ in which a driver questions the legality of the process of measuring the transparency of vehicle windows by a police officer. The driver also claims that the government’s Decision No. 955-N from June 28, 2007, ‘On the Approval of the Rules of the Road Traffic in the Republic of Armenia and the List of Deficiencies and Conditions Prohibiting the Operation of Vehicles’ has been nullified and that the technical regulations on the safety of passenger vehicles approved by the Customs Union Commission on December 9, 2011, No. 877 have not been officially published, hence rendering the decision to impose administrative penalties as illegal. Meanwhile, the video encourages other drivers to act similarly.

As a result, it may create distrust among the law-abiding citizens, who make up the majority of drivers in Armenia, towards the actions and decisions of police officers. The Ministry of Internal Affairs clarifies that the government’s Decision No. 955-N from June 28, 2007, has not been nullified and is still in effect, while the technical regulations on the safety of passenger vehicles that were published by the Customs Union are available on the official legal information system of Armenia at arlis.am, meaning they have been duly published.

In accordance with Article 24, part 1 of the Armenian Law on Normative Legal Acts, the acts of the Eurasian Economic Commission of the EAEU are subject to direct application in the territory of the Republic of Armenia in compliance with the international treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union.

The ministry also informs that under the Armenian Law on Police, police officers are authorized to inspect vehicles in the presence of drivers or citizens if there are threats to road safety or violations of traffic rules, which includes checking the transparency of side windows.”

“Should a driver obstruct the inspection, the police officer is authorized to demand the cessation of such obstructive actions and, in case of non-compliance with lawful demands or resistance, to apply measures of coercion against violators. Dear drivers, we urge you not to be swayed by videos spreading misinformation on social media and to adhere to traffic rules, which is primarily essential for ensuring your own safety,” the ministry concludes.