Hard to Starboard!: Federation Council Proposes Incentivizing Russians to Abandon Right-Hand Drive

Accident statistics of right-hand drive vehicles are alarming

The head of the Federation Council Committee on Economic Policy, Andrey Kutepov, sent a letter to Denis Manturov with a proposal to introduce support measures for those wishing to switch from right-hand drive cars to "lefties." The main reason for abandoning cars with the "steering wheel in the glove compartment" is the statistics of their accident rate: according to the Avtostat agency, in 2024, with a market share of 8.2%, they account for 12.2% of all accidents in the country.

The senator emphasized that measures to transfer citizens to left-hand drive should be applied in a planned, phased manner and combined with incentive programs.

Such as, for example, government subsidy programs for citizens who have decided to purchase a new safe car. In addition, new cars must be provided with the necessary supply of spare parts, as well as a wide service infrastructure
Andrey Kutepov, Head of the Federation Council Committee on Economic Policy

According to Avtostat, 3.87 million right-hand drive cars are registered in Russia. Most of them are in the Far Eastern Federal District - 1.99 million and the Siberian Federal District - 1.43 million.

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