Accidents are shifted to the sidelines – Newspaper Kommersant No. 5 (7450) dated 01/13/2023

The Federal Road Agency (Rosavtodor) and the state company Avtodor announced a decrease in the accident rate on their subordinate highways. On toll federal roads, the number of accidents decreased by 12%, on other “federal roads” – by 6%. Officials believe that this is the result of work to separate oncoming traffic and install additional lighting. Accident statistics on regional highways are not yet available.

The Russian highway network is administered by Rosavtodor, Avtodor, regional and municipal authorities. Avtodor supervises paid federal highways, Rosavtodor – other federal highways. The regional authorities and municipalities are responsible for regional roads.

Rosavtodor on Thursday, January 12, presented data on accidents in 2022. The number of road accidents decreased by 6%, the number of injured and killed in them – by 10% and 4.7%, respectively. The Avtodor state company previously presented its own information: the accident rate on toll roads decreased by 12% over the year, the number of injured – by 10.5%, and the number of deaths – by 16%. There is no unified statistics on regional and municipal roads, it will be in the annual report of the traffic police, which will appear later.

Programs for the integrated development of roads help to reduce the number of accidents, the Federal Road Agency explained: in 2022, within the framework of such programs, 69 km of axial fencing to separate oncoming flows, 197 km of electric lighting lines, more than 3.28 thousand .road signs and 163 traffic lights. Some areas are being completely renovated. Thus, the section of the A-181 Scandinavia highway in the Leningrad Region expanded from two to six lanes in 2022. Construction of new city bypasses is underway (for example, the Northern Bypass of Anapa was opened last year).

Avtodor says they are also making efforts to separate oncoming traffic flows and install lighting (on highways transferred to the management of a state-owned company, for example, M-1, M-3). During the construction of new highways, one-level intersections are no longer allowed (TsKAD, M-12, etc.).

The state-owned company emphasizes that the accident rate is decreasing against the backdrop of an increase in the length of routes: in 2022, the Small Concrete A-107 was transferred to Avtodor, and the first sections of the M-12 highway were opened in the Moscow and Vladimir regions.

At the same time, the State traffic inspectorate regularly points out shortcomings in the road infrastructure that threaten traffic safety on the federal network. Back in 2019, the leadership of the traffic police said that 40% of all deaths in road accidents are recorded on these roads due to high speeds and heavy traffic. In October 2022, the Scientific Center for Road Safety of the Ministry of Internal Affairs drew attention to the fact that drivers (both truckers and car owners) often have nowhere to rest on “federals”. As a result, they pointed out, 72% of all deaths as a result of traffic accidents associated with non-compliance with the regime of work and rest are recorded on these roads.

The problem is also confirmed by the coordinator of the Blue Buckets movement Petr Shkumatov. Special areas for recreation, according to him, are inconvenient to use on federal highways, they are not looked after enough.

The expert also draws attention to the lack of places for overtaking on two-lane roads, although recently three-lane traffic has appeared in many places.

Where there are not yet three lanes, it is necessary to make an asphalt wide shoulder, Petr Shkumatov believes, in this case, the risks of flying into a ditch and avoiding accidents are reduced.

In October, the traffic police also noted a high level of accidents in the places of repair work: drivers sometimes get into accidents due to the ill-conceived organization of temporary traffic. Rosavtodor stated that they control the work of contractors in terms of installing signs, fences and regularly fine them for violations.

The main way to reduce deaths in road accidents, which the traffic police and experts insist on, is the separation of oncoming flows using a barrier fence. The government, told Kommersant, back in 2020 approved a “road map”, according to which by the beginning of 2025 all four-lane “federal” should be equipped with dividing structures. Rosavtodor previously provided data that in 2022 more than 200 billion rubles were allocated for the division of flows.

Ivan Buranov