AZE.US
Azerbaijani lawmakers have proposed easing the penalty-point system for drivers, arguing that the current 20-point threshold can leave professional drivers without income after minor violations.
The issue was raised during a plenary session of the Milli Majlis, where MP Nagif Hamzayev said the existing rules are especially harsh for taxi drivers and others who earn their living behind the wheel.
He said an ordinary driver who loses the right to drive can still use alternative transport. For a taxi driver or another professional driver, however, losing a license often means losing a job, income and, in many cases, the financial stability of an entire family.
Hamzayev proposed raising the threshold for suspension of driving rights from 20 points to 40-50 points. He also suggested that penalty points should be applied only for serious violations, while first-time minor offenses could be punished with a fine only.
MP Kamal Jafarov backed the need for changes, offering a more moderate proposal to raise the limit from 20 to 30 points.
Jafarov said the number of administrative traffic offenses assessed through penalty points has grown from 14 to 27 over the past 10 years, while the total value of points in the system has increased from 54 to 91.
Despite that, the threshold for losing the right to drive has remained unchanged.
According to Jafarov, this means a driver today can lose a license after accumulating only 22% of all possible points in the system. In 2016, that figure stood at 37%.
He said restoring the previous ratio would require raising the limit to about 34 points, but proposed a more conservative increase to 30 points to preserve the deterrent effect of the law.
Jafarov also said some low-risk violations, especially those related to passive infrastructure issues, could be punished by a fine without adding penalty points.
The debate came as lawmakers discussed 8 items on the agenda of the extraordinary parliamentary session. The session also included discussions on property insurance, civil service recruitment and staffing shortages in the regions.
The agenda items were later put to a vote and adopted.
AZE.US