Azerbaijan has always trumpeting about the widespread and constant fight against corruption. Outward signs of this struggle are noticeable: the need for direct contact between a citizen and an official is reduced. To eliminate the possibility of bribery, services are moving to a “single window” format. But, despite the windows for receiving and issuing documents installed in all the Centers for compulsory technical inspection of cars, drivers are sent there to offices to communicate with an officer behind closed doors. Moreover, the system is designed in such a way that the driver is left alone with the officer, without witnesses, the reader Kamran Aliyev, who presented a car for technical inspection at the Sumgayit State Traffic Police Service Center, told Turan. There are “single windows”, but after passing the car through the control stands, the owners must be sent to communicate “face-to-face” with the officer in a closed office. Moreover, a video camera is installed in front of the office door, through which the officer watches the people standing at his door. What are the officers and car owners talking about in a closed office?

The driver Namik Musazade in the Facebook group “Traffic and Transport News in Azerbaijan” told how long it took to prepare for the upcoming technical inspection. He corrected all defects in the car in advance, collected documents on the repairs carried out, checked the presence of a fire extinguisher, fresh medicines in the first-aid kit …

However, he had to endure the psychological pressure in the room without witnesses. Musazade writes:

“… The inspection of the car is over. I put the car in the parking lot, went to the bank for payment, and interesting things begans. The cashier refused to accept payment. They sent me to the inspector, then here. I reminded him that it was his duty to accept payment and provide a check. To my question: “Will you accept payment?”, the cashier replied “No.”

He asked me to introduce myself and say in which bank she works. Turned out to be from TuranBank. Having found the number on the Internet, I called the bank’s hotline. Then the cashier accepted the payment …

The driver Namik Musazade in the Facebook group “Traffic and Transport News in Azerbaijan” told how long it took to prepare for the upcoming technical inspection. He corrected all defects in the car in advance, collected documents on the repairs carried out, checked the presence of a fire extinguisher, fresh medicines in the first-aid kit …

However, he had to endure the psychological pressure in the room without witnesses. Musazade writes:

“… The check of the car is over. I put the car in the parking lot, go to the bank for payment. Here the interesting begins. The cashier refused to accept payment. Like, go to the inspector, then here. To which I reminded him that it is his duty to accept payment and provide a check To my question: “Will you accept payment?”, The cashier replied: No.

He asked me to introduce myself and say in which bank she works. Turned out to be from TuranBank. Having found the number on the Internet, I called the bank’s hotline. Then the cashier accepted the payment …

After receiving the check, I went to the glass window. There, having printed out the documents, they sent me to the office. In the office, a five-minute discussion with the captain. He refused to accept the car repair certificates.

I asked the inspector a question: “You say that the service certificate is invalid, but which one is valid?” Answer: “None.” After that, the maintenance pass was issued.

The driver Musazade writes: “I hope that one day this whole system will be corrected. There will be no such fuss, since the maintenance should not serve to enrich certain persons, but in order to reduce the number of faulty cars on the road.

He advises: going to the inspection, study the rules and stock up on certificates of repair and inspection of the car.

Is it possible to know by heart the rules for passing the maintenance, the criminal code and regulations – the only protection of drivers from a verified system of extortion at the Inspection Centers? Not every citizen is ready for a psychological struggle with traffic police officers, some put their nervous health above principles, and prefer to pay off with money.

The creator of the aforementioned page in FB Vugar Naga, in an interview with Turan, said that the way out could be in transferring the entire maintenance procedure to private car services.

The State Traffic Police think otherwise. In a conversation with Turan, the head of the public relations department of the State Traffic Police Namidan Piriev rejected the possibility of bribery in the structure of mandatory technical inspection of cars. He admits that money from drivers could be extorted by civilians standing at the gates of technical centers and offering drivers to bring them documents on passing the maintenance without technical inspection. The traffic police identified such intermediaries.

Piriev believes that rumors about bribery during maintenance are spread by drivers who were denied a tag about the passed technical inspection due to technical malfunctions in their cars.

The representative of the Traffic Police assured that there was not a single case of a written complaint from citizens about arbitrariness during maintenance. He suggested that disgruntled citizens apply to the Traffic Police Department with the facts in hand, so that there was a basis for an official investigation.

When asked about the possibility of transferring maintenance to private companies, Piriev referred to inappropriate legislation that does not provide for technical inspections in private centers. “The traffic police comply with the laws, being the executive state body,” added the representative of the State Traffic Police.

The mandatory technical inspection of cars is explained by the fact that, according to the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic, the car must meet certain technical parameters set forth in the appendix to it, and be in good condition. However, according to the convention, technical inspection should be mandatory only for trucks with a maximum mass of more than 3.5 tons and cars with more than eight seats.

For ordinary passenger cars, inspection is not mandatory under the Convention, but it prescribes national legislation to extend the maintenance requirement to all vehicle categories “whenever possible”.

In the Azerbaijani corruption, reality there is a principle of “technical inspection as possible”, since most car owners simply buy coupons for passing the inspection. Everyone sees proof of this on Azerbaijani roads filled with unsuitable vehicles.

Source: Turan News Agency