The Ministry of Transport is preparing a registry of cars with Ukrainian license plates. It is supposed to connect people with temporary protection to specific cars, which will make it easier for the authorities to deliver fines. The register should start functioning in the second half of this year. Monday’s Lidové noviny informs about it. There are approximately 38,000 Ukrainian-branded cars in the Czech Republic.
“We are introducing it mainly so that the responsibility of offenders can be traced. To match a car with a specific person, which is now often difficult,” Transport Minister Martin Kupka (ODS) told Lidový noviním.
According to the ministry, the city halls and municipalities, which have no way of delivering fines to drivers and thus lose income, applied for the register. “If the identity of the driver or operator is not established, the case is postponed,” said Filip Poňuchálek, the spokesman of the Brno municipality.
In certain cases, the Czech authorities can now look into vehicle registers from the countries of the European Union, but this will not help in the case of Ukraine. The upcoming registry of Ukrainian cars should not link data with official lists in Ukraine.
“We want the law to be simple. The register should contain a bond between a car and a person with the right of temporary protection. It would not contain all the technical details about the vehicle, but really only the most necessary parameters,” said Kupka. He hopes for the most empathetic approach to Ukrainian car operators.
Without technical inspection and insurance
Vehicles from Ukraine do not currently have to pass a technical inspection in the Czech Republic, as they are considered cars in international traffic. However, it is also not possible to insure them. “If an uninsured Ukrainian vehicle causes damage in the Czech Republic, we will reimburse the injured party and will not demand compensation from Ukrainian motorists. This assistance is valid for six months after leaving the territory of Ukraine,” Vladimír Krejzar, liquidation director of the Czech office of insurers, told LN.
If the driver of a Ukrainian car causes an accident after the expiration of the six-month period, the insurance company will pay the damage to the injured driver, but will collect the money from the uninsured culprit.
According to insurance companies, from the beginning of March last year to the end of February this year, there were 2,611 accidents in the Czech Republic that resulted in uninsured damage. 173 accidents involved Ukrainian cars. Last year, the association paid out more than 250 million crowns from the Guarantee Fund of the Czech Office of Insurers, a proportional part of which was paid for damages caused by Ukrainian drivers.
