The Traffic policemen are on duty for New Year holidays on permanent mode. Suren Jabaghyan, a senior traffic police inspector says said and refute the view that, especially on the first days of January the drivers are not fined for alcohol. “Drunk driver has no right to drive, and whenever we find a drunk driver on holidays we register and after the corresponding examination test we fine him. Drunk driver is a danger for all traffic participants,” the Inspector said.
As it was in the past year, his duty will starts at 8 o’clock in the morning and ends at 17:00. Although they are strict towards the drivers who used, but they do not show the same attitude toward the drivers who infringe the road sign rules especially in winter days, as the signs sometimes are not visible due to the snow, so depending on various factors, drivers are not fined.
However, the traffic police inspector with 8 years of experience believes that traffic is getting more regulated and the drivers tend to become more disciplined. However there are still many drivers who ignore the seatbelts, continue using mobile phones and fail to comply with the requirements of the signs. In winter, cases of driving with closed number plates become more frequent. “When you see places of snow balls on the numbers, it means that they have been deliberately closed. In other cases, we ask the driver to clean the number plate.” In fact during our whole conversation he had not fastened the seatbelt as well.
According to traffic police inspector the relationship between the traffic inspectors and citizen have become even closer today.
The senior traffic police inspector ensures there is no so-called “fine plan” set for them. “Traffic service is varied, and the days are different: one day you can cater a definite event, on another day arrive to the crash site, or will be in a definite road line.”
The road inspectors are often very angry when drivers make video records, our interlocutor does not see any problem in this regard. “It happened often when the driver or the passenger make videos on their cellphones. I carried out my duties in the scope of the requirements of law and wished the driver good luck. There were no conflicts in this regard. It’s their right to record or not,” he said.
Were there cases when the drivers suggested bribe? Suren has only one reply, “There are no such situations, especially now.”
The traffic police officer’s day does not begin or end with usual service, says our interlocutor, there are also unusual cases. “Once we were carrying out service in Shengavit community. A citizen stopped us on Bagratunyats street and said he was taking his wife to maternity hospital and asked for help. He said that his wife had a sharp deterioration in health, he was in panic and did not know what to do. We took a decision just in place and took the woman and the husband to the medical center. Everything went well,” the inspector said.
Suren chose the profession when a child, when he was fond of cars and traffic. He is married and has two sons.
