Chechen drivers tell about law enforcers' raids on roads

The vehicle gas cylinder equipment (GCE) often breaks down and poses a danger, experts said after reports of checks on Chechen roads. Drivers linked the raids with the fight against car window tinting; and GCE checks are conducted in parallel.

At the end of 2023, drivers in Chechnya faced new law enforcers' raids against car window tinting; any attempts to argue with the police led to serving of summonses. The raids are conducted in order to recruit drivers to be sent to the special military operation (SMO) zone, Ali Magamadov, a political analyst, has suggested.

A commentator for the "Caucasian Knot" has reported on drivers' checks in Chechnya. "In recent days, there have been massive raids in Chechnya against owners of the cars equipped with the GCE. They demand from drivers to show permits to have the GCE in their cars. In the absence of such permits, fines are imposed, or cars are confiscated and sent to the impound lot. Given the fact that in Chechnya almost every second car runs on gas, law enforcers have a lot of work to do," the commentator has written.

"Each gas cylinder has its own service life. When it nears the end, the cylinder must be checked every year and a decision made on whether it can be used further or not. Many drivers, instead of buying a new cylinder, try to negotiate an extension of the service life, and thus risk their lives and the lives of their passengers in such cars," said Alexander, a lawyer for the "Gazomania" service.

Alexander Rivin, an auto expert, has emphasized that most often explosions happen in such vehicles.

In his turn, a human rights defender has noted that this is an accepted practice in Chechnya that fines are increased by the end of the year to improve statistics.

Local drivers assert that raids are conducted in Chechnya not because of the GCE. "Raids are conducted, and cars are stopped because of window tinting. They force drivers to remove the tinting or let them go, but on the condition that next time there will be no tinting. At the same time, they check all other documents," said Akhmed.

Earlier, Ramzan Kadyrov linked road accidents on roads of Chechnya with the increased number of tinted cars. He demanded that this problem be completely eradicated, including, among other measures, by involving drivers' relatives.