Presentation of Monitoring Results of the Periodic Technical Inspection of Vehicles

by Manana Tatishvili , December 7, 2018

On November 21, the EWMI ACCESS Grantee – Georgian Alliance for Safe Roads (GASR) presented the results of monitoring of mandatory periodic technical inspection (PTI) of vehicles. The study was conducted with the support from EWMI ACCESS and included the monitoring of ongoing vehicle testing in Tbilisi and the regions of Georgia. Invited experts also presented a comparative analysis of air quality to show the impact of PTI on the improvement of air quality in Tbilisi.

The study was conducted from September through November 2018 and involved a desk research, in-depth interviews, focus-groups, observation of the testing process and inquiry of customers of PTI centers. According to the study results, the total of 84,850 vehicles underwent the PTI as of the end of October, 2018. Some 32% of these vehicles failed to pass the roadworthiness test and 30% of them did not turn up for a repeat inspection.

Key findings and recommendations of the study are:

The infrastructure of testing centers meets international standards. The process of testing is well-managed, queues have not been seen. In general, customers are satisfied with services provided by the centers.
The PTI Reform is barely enforced on highways – according to the October data, only five vehicles were fined for the excess of harmful substances in emission. At this stage, patrol police lacks relevant equipment to measure the level of harmful substances in emission.
The system of monitoring is imperfect – the success of PTI reform largely depends on the integrity and qualification of personnel of accreditation centers. There is a need to introduce an effective and transparent monitoring system.
Consolidated information on the enforcement of the reform is not available. At present, PTI centers run several independent databases of inspected vehicles. At this stage one cannot identify which part of car fleet has passed the mandatory inspection because it proved impossible to obtain all databases within the scope of the study. It is necessary to have a consolidated database and also, to categorize detected violations.
There is a need to raise and improve inspectors’ qualification and communication skills.

The conference was attended by Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, Head of Parliamentary Committee on Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, EU representative, CSOs, representatives of private and donor organizations.

Government representatives spoke about their future plans for the improvement of PTI reform enforcement, including the introduction of effective monitoring mechanism.

The Georgian Alliance for Safe Roads will conduct the second monitoring in spring, 2019 once the PTI reform fully enters into the force.

Monitoring Report (in Geo) is available here – პერიოდული ტექნიკური ინსპექტირების მონიტორინგი და შეფასება