Some changes have been in effect on Turkmenistan’s roads since early May. One lane in each direction is designated for specialized vehicles, including police cars, firefighting vehicles and ambulances on central, the so-called protocol, streets and avenues of Ashgabat.
Correspondents of “Chronicles of Turkmenistan” report that shortly after that many drivers started complaining about traffic congestions. Occasionally, during rush hours, traffic jams used to be a common sight but now the situation has exacerbated.
According to drivers, these lanes are almost never used.
The control over the speed limit has also been tightened. An increasing number of radars have been installed on the reverse side of road signs to check the vehicle speed in the city.
Moreover, police officers are again stopping colour vehicles on the roads.Vehicles of all colours, except white or light grey, are immediately towed away to the car impound of the road police and the owner’s registration certificate is confiscated.
As a rule, a car and documents can be collected the next day and prior to that a document certifying that the car owner is obliged to bring his vehicle in a proper technical condition and the exterior needs to be signed.
The official requirement to repaint a vehicle is not specified and drivers are notified only verbally.The vehicle inspection can be successfully passed only after a car is repainted into a white colour.
Car owners from velayats also report that the police are now stopping colour cars even though this requirement has previously not been very stringent in the provinces.
Drivers are discontent with the fact they are not warned in advance. The police unexpectedly demand that drivers abide by the newly-introduced requirement.
Сar repainting services are quite expensive and not everyone can afford to pay for this service.
All repainting expenses usually amount to 7 to 8 thousand manats ($2000-2285 at the official rate or $300-350 at “the black market” rate).
Let us recall that the ban on colour cars was introduced in Ashgabat in January 2018.
This instruction is issued verbally and has not been legally envisaged.It appears that the ban was initiated by President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, whose favourite colour is white.Police do not always monitor the compliance with this requirement.
Colour cars are occasionally stopped on the road but some time later road police inspectors lose interests and cars of other colours can be seen on the roads again.