On Tuesday, the Standing Committee on Justice discussed the draft resolution on the ratification of the European Agreement concerning the Work of Crews of Vehicles Engaged in International Road Transport (AETR) and the draft amendment to the Law on Traffic Safety.
Minister of Roads and Transport Development L.Khaltar reported that by acceding to the agreement, Mongolia will be able to comply with the working and resting regime of drivers, set appropriate working conditions and requirements, ensure traffic safety, and prevent traffic accidents.
The AETR Agreement aims to prevent drivers and crews of commercial vehicles of more than 3.5 tons, or transporting more than nine people, engaged in international road transport from driving excessive hours. It also defines the control devices, sets technical requirements for the construction, testing, installation and inspection of these devices, and requires enforcement authorities to check driving hours.
During the meeting, State Secretary of the ministry S.Batbold informed, “By installing a digital surveillance device on each international transport vehicle, drivers will be remotely monitored on how many hours they drive or rest and how fast they drive. The current Law on Traffic Safety and the Road Law do not have such a regulation, so control issues have been added to the draft law.”
“Vehicles manufactured since 2010 have such surveillance devices. It must be installed on trucks that don’t have them. The device costs 40 to 400 USD. In addition, it will not cause additional costs as the National Road Transport Center provides integrated remote control of vehicles for international transportation. Upon accession to the agreement, the relevant authority shall be authorized to import monitoring equipment. The Mongolian Motor Carriers Association is a member of the International Trucking Association and plans to import control equipment. The accredited laboratory at the National Road Transport Center will perform maintenance and verification of monitoring equipment,” he emphasized.
