When a Car’s Color Became a Compliance Issue
In Turkmenistan’s capital, Ashgabat, black cars were reportedly barred from the streets because white was regarded as lucky. The rule turned an ordinary feature of a vehicle—its paint color—into a matter of compliance. Owners faced a practical choice: have the car repainted or risk having it impounded.
A Ban That Reached Beyond the Showroom
Repainting is not a simple swap of accessories. A car’s existing finish must be prepared, then covered with new paint and protective clear coat; the work takes time and can be costly. For owners, the restriction could therefore mean paying for a change that had nothing to do with how the car ran. If a vehicle was stopped or otherwise found to violate the color requirement, impoundment added the possibility of losing access to it as well.
That makes the policy distinctive from a typical traffic rule, which governs how a vehicle is driven or equipped. Here, the acceptable appearance itself was the condition. A belief about luck was reflected in a public requirement, with consequences that landed directly on car owners: even a perfectly functioning vehicle could become unusable in the capital because of its color.
