Georgian authorities have moved to soften speeding fines less than two months after penalties were sharply increased, with amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses presented in parliament on Friday.
Irakli Kirtkhalia, who leads the ruling Georgian Dream parliamentary majority, submitted the draft changes. He said the goal is a more differentiated fine structure that better matches the severity of each violation rather than applying uniform higher amounts across several speed bands.
What changed on 1 May
From 1 May 2026, fines for exceeding the speed limit by 15–40 km/h rose from 50 lari to 100 lari. Drivers caught at higher speeds faced penalties of up to 300 lari, depending on how far over the limit they were travelling.
The May increase was part of a broader push to tighten road-safety enforcement. Supporters said steeper sanctions would deter risky driving on highways and in cities where patrol police and automated cameras are widely deployed. Critics argued that the new amounts hit ordinary motorists hard and that moderate excess speeds were punished at the same level as more dangerous offences.
What the new amendments propose
Under the draft now before lawmakers, the 50 lari penalty would be restored for drivers who exceed the limit by 15–30 km/h, reversing the May doubling for that band.
For 30–40 km/h over the limit, the fine would remain 100 lari. Drivers caught 40–50 km/h over would pay 100 lari instead of the current 300 lari. The 300 lari sanction would apply only when speed is exceeded by more than 50 km/h.
Officials have framed the revision as a technical adjustment to create clearer tiers, not a full rollback of road-safety policy. Kirtkhalia's remarks echoed earlier comments from senior figures who questioned whether higher fines alone had reduced violations.
What happens next
The amendments must pass parliament and be published in the official gazette before taking effect. No final vote date has been announced in initial reporting.
Until new rules are adopted, the May 2026 schedule remains in force. Residents, tourists and expats driving or renting vehicles in Georgia should check current penalty bands before travelling, especially on routes with fixed speed cameras.
The debate follows public discussion in early June about whether recent fine increases were proportionate. If approved, the revised structure would mark one of the quickest policy reversals on traffic penalties in recent years, while keeping the steepest sanctions for the most serious speeding cases.
