Already in just one month, from December the 1st Georgian drivers will have to buckle themselves up, and make sure their passenger wear seatbelt as well, otherwise they must be ready to pay off a fine worth 40GEL (22$).
Not long time ago there were no obligations to wear a seatbelt at all, though later it became a rule to fasten it while driving on the highways. It was pretty rare to see anybody wearing seatbelt except those from some international organizations and foreigners, very few Georgians would ever do it. I remember how surprised the police officer was to see me buckled up; he immediately started to accuse me in racing down the city, which was not the case at that moment. After saying I was just going home, he interrupted me with next question why I was wearing it then. Inspiring right?! So not only it was not a rule, it was even unpopular and some kind of embarrassing to be wearing a seatbelt for most of the drivers, as it would kind of indicate on their poor driving skills, especially among young people. I was trying to encourage my friends doing that but unsuccessful it was.
There are two more surprises to come; first one is the ban of dark tinted glasses, which is really popular in here. Some people even had their windshields tinted. I remember my friends having hard times to drive back home at night from the seaside. Another surprise will be a 200GEL (115$) fine for throwing garbage out of the window.
I would encourage and recommend adding technical inspection of the vehicle, but not as a money making mechanism, but as the one that would guarantee more safety on the roads, as most of accidents happen as a result of technical fault of the vehicle, most of the time involving lives of innocent people. At the moment when the fine for drunk driving is 200GEL (110$) the fine for driving а car with a technical malfunction is only 15GEL (8$) which is even cheaper than talking on the phone 20GEL (11$).
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