(21 January 2026 | Source: FBRK)
In the first 10 months of 2025, automated weigh-in-motion stations (WIMs) issued fines totalling 4.4 billion tenge. This is three times more than in the previous year. The National Chamber of Entrepreneurs (NCE) "Atameken" has officially acknowledged systemic violations in their operation, and the prosecutor's office has begun a mass review of cases. Shortly after the violations were acknowledged, the Ministry of Transportation legalised what had caused outrage among a significant portion of the road haulage industry.
But let's take things in order.
FINES FOR CARS AND PROSECUTORIAL REVIEW OF CASES
Since 2013, Kazakhstan has operated automated weigh-in-motion stations (WIMs) — systems that record the weight and dimensions of lorries. By the end of 2024, more than 60 WIMs had been installed across the country, with plans to increase this number to 220 by the end of 2025.
The transition to fully automatic operation from the second half of 2025 triggered a sharp increase in fines. Over 10 months of 2025, under Article 571 of the Administrative Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan ("Violation of rules for the carriage of passengers, luggage and cargo"), 13,700 people were penalised, with fines totalling 4.4 billion tenge — a threefold increase compared to 2024.
The main reason is widespread technical violations during the installation of WIMs. There have even been cases of fines issued to cars for exceeding weight parameters, indicating systematic equipment failures. Prosecutorial inspections confirmed that a significant portion of fines were issued due to malfunctioning monitoring systems caused by deterioration of the road surface. The result is a mass review of administrative proceedings.
ASPHALT INSTEAD OF CONCRETE AND OTHER VIOLATIONS
As previously mentioned, on 18 December 2025, at a meeting of the Council for the Protection of Entrepreneurs' Rights of the NCE "Atameken", chaired by Kairbek Suleimenov, problems related to the functioning of WIMs were highlighted.
The key violation is the absence of the mandatory concrete surface on a designated lane extending at least 100 metres before the weighbridge equipment. Most stations, it turns out, operate on asphalt, which deforms under temperature and load. This leads to incorrect weight readings and fines for innocent parties.
According to an anonymous FBRK source, these are not all the system's problems. He notes that checkpoint sites often lack a variable message sign, which should be installed 90 to 200 metres from the WIM. This situation, the source says, has been observed on the Astana bypass road near the village of Kyzylsuat.
Furthermore, he noted that six weigh-in-motion sensors are installed per lane, but this number may be insufficient for full coverage of the road surface.
An FBRK journalist also visited several checkpoint locations and noted another issue: rear number plate cameras are not installed everywhere. This is critical, as trailers and semi-trailers do not always have their excess weight at the front — it can be on the rear section. Without capturing the rear plate, it is simply impossible to correctly identify the owner of an overloaded semi-trailer.
The FBRK source notes that the rules for organising the operation of automated weigh-in-motion stations (Order No. 689 of 5 September 2013) also contain a systemic loophole: they do not specify requirements for the minimum speed when passing through a WIM. Indeed, Paragraph 13(1) states — "measurement of vehicle parameters in motion without restriction from established traffic rules". In practice, this oversight allows drivers to reduce speed to a minimum, avoiding detection.
Interestingly, as the FBRK source reports, violation data is sent directly to an inspector, who has the power to cancel a fine independently. This means a concentration of significant discretionary powers in one person, creating risks of subjective decision-making, selective enforcement, and abuse.
Incidentally, the main contractor for installing WIMs is Automatic System LLP, a company that has been in the market since 27 December 2021. Over four years, it has shown explosive growth in contracts, evidenced by tax payments of around 390 million tenge in 2025. According to the kompra.kz service, the company has paid approximately 725 million tenge in taxes over its entire period of operation.
The regular client is NC KazAvtoZhol JSC and regional road authorities. As the FBRK source reports, a problem arises at the stage of setting the average price. According to him, the price for NC KazAvtoZhol JSC may differ from the prices for regional authorities.
OFFICIAL RESPONSE
On 29 December 2025, 11 days after the NCE "Atameken" meeting, the Ministry of Transportation adopted Order No. 452, which introduced changes to Order No. 689.
The key change concerns the road surface. Paragraph 14(6) now states that the national operator and local executive bodies must provide a concrete and/or asphalt road surface on the designated lane.
The wording "and/or" effectively legalised what "Atameken" had called a key violation. Now, all existing WIMs on asphalt formally comply with the law.
It must be acknowledged, however, that the new order also introduced positive requirements. Variable message signs, for example, are now mandatory — with a size of at least 960x1920 mm, installed 90 to 200 metres after the WIM. Cars, buses, and minibuses have been excluded from enforcement, which should solve the problem of absurd fines for cars.
However, the critically important requirement for capturing the rear number plate was not included in the order. Paragraph 14 requires capturing the front view, side view, and the front number plate. The rear plate is not mentioned at all.
The order also did not close the loophole regarding minimum speed. The functionality of the WIM software still provides for measuring vehicle parameters in motion without restriction from established traffic rules.
SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES
The WIM problem is compounded by the ban on operating dump trucks, which came into force on 1 January 2026. The transportation of goods is banned for dump trucks whose maximum technically permissible mass exceeds the established norm for a general vehicle.
Over 155,000 dump trucks of category N3 (>12 tonnes) are registered in Kazakhstan. The ban will directly affect the interests of more than 100,000 drivers. Meanwhile, the state has taken no measures to restrict the import of dump trucks into the market or to create social support mechanisms for equipment owners.
The automatic application of WIM readings also contradicts the norms of the Tax Code. Under current practice, when violations are detected via WIM, the fee for the distance actually travelled is not collected, meaning the state budget loses significant revenue.
Following the "Atameken" meeting, it recommended that the Ministry of Transportation conduct an audit of the technical condition of WIMs, that the Prosecutor General's Office review unreasonable decisions made against entrepreneurs, and that NC KazAvtoZhol JSC inspect existing stations.
WHAT'S THE RESULT?
The result is that, instead of eliminating violations, shortly after the problem was officially acknowledged, the Ministry of Transportation effectively legalised the asphalt surface which "Atameken" had identified as the key cause of incorrect readings. Meanwhile, the requirement to capture the rear number plate, technically necessary for correctly identifying offenders, was not included in the new order.
The ambitious plan to expand the WIM network, even with sensible solutions in place, is unlikely to avoid repeating existing problems. Without a transparent audit of the technical condition of current stations and accountability for unjustified fines already issued, new WIMs may become a continuation of a system that fines cars and operates on asphalt instead of concrete. And considering that the majority of WIMs have been installed by a single company, there is a risk of monopolisation of control and a lack of fair competition, which further reduces the chances of improving the system's operation.