Analytics, Car market, Latvia, Legislation, Markets and Companies, Passenger cars, Statistics, Transport

The committee is continuing to review an initiative proposing that vehicle inspection be performed every two years. At the moment, annual vehicle inspection is mandatory for all motorists.

The average age of automobiles in Latvia is 13.17 years. In Europe, only Malta has older vehicles (13.8 years on the average), while the average age of automobiles in Europe is 8.3 years.

45% of automobiles fail to pass vehicle inspection at the first attempt, and significant defects in suspension are found in 18% of automobiles that arrive for annual inspection.

"Most drivers have their automobiles repaired only before or after vehicle inspection. During the vehicle inspection nights, when every driver may have his or her checked for free, significant defects are found in 80% of automobiles. If vehicle inspection is performed every two years, the number of automobiles in dangerous technical condition will increase even more," emphasized Liepins.

MP Ainars Latkovskis (Unity) said that the committee needed more information about technical problems found in automobiles up to two years old, automobiles two to five years old, and automobiles five to ten years old, and Liepins said he would present the data at the committee's next meeting.

Janis Abasins, head of the Latvian Insurers' Association, said that vehicle inspection frequency could be changed for automobiles up to a certain age or mileage. Lifting the mandatory annual vehicle inspections for all automobiles would be very risky, he said.

A petition suggesting that vehicle inspection should be performed every two years, signed by 10,570 citizens of Latvia, was submitted to Saeima this past August.