Visitors to Georgia’s ski resorts will now be protected by a special unit of the Georgian police, aptly named the Ski Patrol. Ski Patrollers have undergone special training sessions conducted by the central Police Academy, and will sport a distinctive uniform and special equipment to guarantee the maximum security of vacationers and to prevent accidents at mountain resorts.

The training, in Bakuriani, was attended by seventy four Ski Patrollers from all regions of the country. The new force’s responsibilities include removing suspicious persons from the ski run, controlling the behavior of those under the influence of alcohol or psychotropic substances, and enforcing safety regulations in ski areas reserved for learners. They will also be tasked with preventing unauthorized vehicles from entering ski runs and with maintaining signs and safety barriers. Uniforms and ski helmets are marked with SKI PATROL and POLICE. A number of new amendments to the Code of the Administrative Offences and Law on Traffic concern the patrol. Movement with a snowmobile or motorized sledge is forbidden except for authorized personnel, as is driving a snowmobile under the influence of drugs, alcohol or psychotropic substances. The law also forbids the entering of a closed ski run. As with existing hit-and-run laws, drivers of snowbound vehicles are forbidden to leave the site of a crash without rendering help to any injured, and without first notifying an officer of the law.