Moped cars to be subjected to technical inspection obligation
Four-wheel mopeds or moped cars will be subject to a technical inspection obligation, Minister of Economic Affairs and Communications Taavi Aas (Center) wrote in an explanatory referendum.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications has drawn up a draft law, the main goal of which is to make changes in the technical inspection system to improve the technical compliance of vehicles participating in traffic.
To achieve this goal, a technical inspection will also be imposed on moped cars, which have become an increasingly more common sight in traffic. Until now, four-wheel mopeds have not had to go through technical inspection.
"There are a large number of moped cars used in traffic, which are non-compliant to technical requirements and traffic registry data. For example, the vehicles might be rebuilt, poorly repaired or not repaired at all, endangering other road users and passengers," the draft law's explanatory referendum reads.
Moped cars are also commonly brought to Estonia from Finland, where they no longer pass the mandatory technical inspection. "The main reason for bringing [moped cars] from Finland to Estonia is the vehicles not passing inspection in Finland, which means the vehicles brought to Estonia have significant dangerous flaws and shortcomings. To ensure safe use of moped cars in traffic, the vehicles must be inspected and deadlines must be set for upcoming inspections," the referendum reads.
Going forward, moped cars or L6e category vehicles must be inspected within at least 48 months of its initial registration in the traffic registry. That is the case for new vehicles. For moped cars up to 10 years in age, a technical inspection must be conducted every two years, yearly inspections are mandatory for cars more than 10 years old.
In addition to Finland, six other EU countries have made technical inspections mandatory for moped cars. There are some 2,200 moped car owners in Estonia.
70-year old vehicles no longer require technical inspection
The draft law states that cars older than 70 years will be released from the technical inspection obligation as they are actually used very rarely and that there is no reason to inspect them periodically because of the high demands placed on old vehicles due to their constructional nature.
The procedure to recognize old vehicles will see two experts checking the vehicle and the act of recognizing old vehicles will remain valid for 12 years. The vehicles will have to apply for the old vehicle recognition every 12 years.
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Editor: Kristjan Kallaste