New technical inspection rules will come into force in Belarus from July 1

June 30, Minsk /BELTA/. A new technical code of established practice "State Technical Inspection of Vehicles. Procedure for Checking the Technical Condition of Vehicles" will be introduced in Belarus from July 1. This was reported to BELTA correspondent by Alexander Kruchek, Deputy Head of the Production and Technical Department of UP "Beltekhosmotr". The procedure for conducting state technical inspection at diagnostic stations and the requirements for vehicles will not significantly change. "The new technical code does not imply any radical changes in the conduct of state technical inspection. The document is primarily needed to streamline the regulatory documentation used in this process and to improve the technology of conducting state technical inspection of vehicles itself," emphasized Alexander Kruchek. The provisions of the new code do not change or exclude the currently applicable requirements of regulatory legal acts in the areas of vehicle and road traffic safety. Some of them have simply been clarified, taking into account the specifics of control and diagnostic work at diagnostic stations and the experience of resolving certain disputes with vehicle owners. The most significant innovation is the change in the approach to vehicle painting: individual parts can be of different colors, but they should not occupy more than 1/3 of the total visible surface area of the vehicle. "We cannot allow cars to be too colorful, as the traffic police need to be able to visually identify the color of a vehicle, especially in cases of accidents, so that witnesses can clearly say that the car was, for example, white or black, not multi-colored, which makes it difficult to find," explained Alexander Kruchek. The criteria for body damage have also been clarified. Now, significant external damage to body parts will be determined by the presence of through mechanical or corrosion damage to externally visible body elements, as well as the presence of a body section with damage whose surface area allows inscribing a circle with a diameter of 100 mm, or three or more such areas, each with a surface area allowing inscribing a circle with a diameter of 50 mm. The approach to external visible stickers on cars will be more lenient. In the new code, stickers that can be deciphered from 10 meters in natural light are considered visible. "According to traffic rules, stickers are not allowed, including those like 'Stiletto', 'Baby on Board', and so on. All this remains the same," said the interlocutor. "However, if a vehicle has a sticker the size of a five-kopeck coin, for example, indicating that an alarm system has been installed, no one will force you to remove it, just as they won't force you to remove a small stripe along the side and the like." As for the approach to allowing vehicles to participate in road traffic, it will not change at all. "For example, traffic rules state that a vehicle with a non-operational lighting device is not allowed to participate in road traffic, so whether one bulb is out or two, it is a non-compliance, and such a vehicle will not be admitted," noted the representative of "Beltekhosmotr". At the same time, at technical inspection stations, in addition to traffic rules, they also follow standards related to the safety of vehicles in operation. "Here we have room for maneuver," added the specialist. "If something, for some reason, can be considered to have an insignificant impact on traffic safety, we can accommodate the vehicle owner." The simplest example is the fluid level in the master brake cylinder reservoir. The owner can fill it themselves, so this will not be a cause for complaint. "The same applies to license plates: if they are not securely fastened, have mechanical damage or coating delamination not related to their modification - all this can be corrected by the client themselves: fasten, repaint, and so on," he explained. It is also expected that in the near future, technical inspection stations will use a new form of vehicle diagnostic card. It will reflect the most significant information for vehicle owners about the technical condition of the vehicle and the malfunctions identified during the inspection. The current form is noticeably outdated, so when developing the new one, experts tried to follow European models. "Clients sometimes demand a reference to the specific clause of which document prohibits them from participating in road traffic. There is a need to specify these points," explained Alexander Kruchek. "Much has been simplified in the card. For example, what was indicated on the back was superfluous. Now we make the card on one side. This speeds up printing and improves the informativeness of the card itself." -0-