Seat belt legislation amended due to efforts of 2006 Fellow Gela Kvashilava
October 2010
Due to the persistent efforts of Georgian Fellow Gela Kvashilava and his team, and with support from the FIA Foundation, BP Georgia, the Georgian Automobilist Federation, the Georgian Police, and other foreign and local stakeholders, significant amendments have been made to Georgia’s seat belt legislation.
Gela heads the Partnership for Road Safety, a road safety foundation he established following his completion of the John Smith Fellowship Programme in July 2006. As a result of the organization's campaigning efforts, amendments to the country’s Code of Administrative Violations, steered through parliament by Vice-Speaker Rusudan Kervalishvili and Otar Toidze, Chairman of the Health and Social Issues Committee, are now set to be introduced in January 2011, making seat belt wearing in the front seats obligatory on all roads in the country. Currently seat belt laws only apply on inter-urban highways and roads where the speed limit is above 80 kph. The new amendments will extend this to all roads and streets. The fine for non-compliance will be 40 GEL (approx US$20).
At Downing Street in 2006, Gela presents his plan to establish a road safety organization in Georgia
The Partnership for Road Safety has the strong endorsement of Georgia’s First Lady, Sandra Roelofs, and is working with leading legislators to strengthen the legislation with effective police enforcement and awareness raising amongst road users.Talking about the achievement to the Trust, Gela commented:
“We are sure that when the new seat belt law comes into action and safety belts will be used properly on all roads of Georgia, it will reduce the number of serious traffic injuries and fatalities by almost by half.”
Other initiatives implemented by the Partnership for Road Safety include the launch of the UN First Global Road Safety Week in Georgia and the introduction of ‘Youth Road Safety Education’ – a series of activities conducted in 48 schools in Georgia in order to raise awareness about road safety among children and their parents.
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