Numbers presented by Arman Abovyan are incorrect

On September 16, referring to the bill on the peculiarities of administrative proceedings in cases of violations of traffic rules detected by video cameras or photo cameras, Prosperous Armenia faction MP Arman Abovyan stated that if adopted, the number of video cameras recording violations will grow significantly in the RA.

“I should underline a very important fact that has been little talked about. Today, there are approximately 2,000 stationary cameras in Armenia, and after the law is adopted, the number of cameras can actually rise to 502,000, it will increase substantially” Abovyan said.

The bill introduced by MPs Sisak Gabrielyan and Armen Pambukhchyan will allow citizens to film traffic violations and send them to the Police through an online application, which will launch administrative proceedings.

The Fact Investigation Platform has revealed how many cameras and speedometers are actually installed in the Republic of Armenia at present, and whether the information provided by the PAP MP is true.

In response to our inquiry, the Police informed that as of September 16, 2019 traffic was controlled through 676 video cameras at intersections and separate sections of Yerevan. There are no cameras installed outside of Yerevan at this time. In other words, in reality, three times less video cameras are installed in Armenia than the number mentioned by Arman Abovyan.

The Police also reported that there are 164 high-speed photo cameras on the roads throughout Armenia.

It means that even if Abovyan had taken into account all the video cameras and photo cameras, the total number is 840, which is 2.4 times less than the number mentioned by the PAP MP. Thus, the number presented by Abovyan is incorrect and substantially different from the real one.

Hovhannes Nazaretyan