RIGA, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Although road traffic in Latvia drives on the right side, Latvian lawmakers decided on Thursday to permit registration of right-hand automobiles as of Nov. 1, 2018.

Under the amendments to the Road Traffic Law, which Latvian parliament passed in the final reading on Thursday, motor vehicles will still be required to meet a number of technical and safety standards, but autos with the steering wheel on the right side will be registered without requiring relocation of the wheel to the left.

"Lawmakers supported the proposal, responding to a ruling of the European Court of Justice. This is also good news to expatriates in foreign countries who want to return to Latvia and have already bought cars in countries like the UK or Ireland. The legislative amendments will save their expenses, as they will not have to relocate the steering wheel," said MP Romans Naudins, chairman of the parliament economics committee, which is in charge of the above legislation.

The Cabinet of Ministers still has to adjust the respective government regulations on road traffic safety.

At present, registration of right-hand drive motor vehicles, which are built for driving on the left side of the road, is forbidden in Latvia, except for certain specialized vehicles, vintage cars and temporarily imported autos. Enditem

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