Video fines for traffic violations will decrease if promptly paid

Georgia’s Interior Ministry announced today that the cost of a fine for traffic violations, detected by special cameras, would decrease by 20 percent if a driver pays the fine within 10 calendar days.

The Ministry claims the model is used in many developed countries and is one of the most effective measures for the relevant bodies to ensure the timely payment of fines.

• The Ministry also says that a fined driver will receive a penalty check via post only after the expiration of a grace period.

Currently, if a driver or someone from the family of a person who violated traffic rules does not sign a document that he/she received the check, the driver has a right not to pay the fine.

Now the Ministry says it is increasing the grace period for video fines from six months to one year. The post office will be obliged to bring the penalty check only once and not twice, which is the current practice.

• After the expiration of the grace period, if no one from the family submits the check delivered by the post office representative, the Ministry will upload the penalty check on its webpage; after it expires by 30 days, it would be considered as automatically submitted.

The automatic submission means that a driver will have to pay the fine, as otherwise the fine will increase and finally he/she may have to pay double cost of the fine or even more.