DUSHANBE, April 1, Asia-Plus — President Emomali Rahmon yesterday signed the law on amendment to the vehicular traffic law banning exploitation of right-hand drive (RHD) in the country.
According to the Ministry of Interior (MoI), the law requiring ban on exploitation of RHD cars in Tajikistan will take effect after being published in the state-run newspaper
Jumhuriyat.
The next edition of
Jumhuriyat
, which is an official paper of the government, is expected to be issued today.
The source at a MoI said that the law not only bans import of the RHD cars into Tajikistan but also exploitation of them in the country. Those who delivered the RHD cars into the country before introduction of the ban should go through certain formalities with traffic police departments (to register their cars and temporarily hand over their number plates). After that they may make over their vehicles at appropriate enterprises and reregister them with traffic police departments.
According to some data, some 3,000-5,000 RHD cars are now in Tajikistan
After the law requiring ban on exploitation of RHD cars in Tajikistan takes effect exploitation of only one RHD vehicle will be permitted in the country – the mobile high-tech drug detecting complex belonging to the Drug Control Agency (DCA). The counternarcotics agency that applied to the president in February asking for permission to exploit its HRD complex received an official permit.
The complex donated to Tajikistan by China is intended for detecting illicit transportation of drugs and other banned items in containers and vehicles. The equipment was handed over to Tajikistan on November 26, 2007 in accordance with government-to-government agreement with China. A total cost of the equipment is some 4 million US dollars.
The X-ray equipment is installed on a trailer Volvo. The complex is capable to scan any vehicle, including heavy trucks, in 3-5 minutes.
Traffic directionality refers to regulations requiring all vehicular traffic to keep either to the left or the right side of the road. Whether the right or the left is specified depends on the laws of each country. This is so fundamental to vehicular transport that it is commonly referred to as the rule of the road. The purpose of the rule of the road is to facilitate traffic flow and reduce the likelihood of head-on collisions. About 34% of the world population drives on the left, and 66% on the right.
A country”s traffic-handedness is most properly designated with reference to the rule of the road, i.e., the side of the road along which traffic flows. Using such a referent, countries are said to have left-hand traffic (LHT) or right-hand traffic (RHT). However, traffic-handedness is sometimes designated with reference to the placement of the steering wheel. Using this terminology, countries are said to be left-hand drive (LHD) or right-hand drive (RHD). In almost all cases, the placement of the steering wheel is opposite to the rule of the road: LHT countries use RHD vehicles, and RHT countries use LHD vehicles.
