Road death toll is rising, despite reported drop in accidents
Sovietskaya Belorussia wrote about a series of meetings with the officials from the traffic police, transport ministry, road maintenance as well as with the members of the public. The meetings aimed to discuss why so many people die on Belarusian roads.
The journalists and officials discussed the issue and came to a conclusion that nothing could be done…Fines and prison terms don’t stop drivers from drinking and driving.
“Last year, 1600 drunk drivers were detained. In the first five months of 2008, 2100 drunken “racers” were stopped in Minsk alone. Out of them, 183 people admitted that they had done it many times before”.
Komsomolskaya Pravda v Belarusi newspaper suggests that blame should be put on scooters, according to a traffic police officer.
“Youths routinely ride without protective helmets, speeding and violating the moving rules. I saw with my own eyes on numerous occasions that youths were dancing tango, jumping from the first to the fourth lane”.
Scooters will now have to be registered. The traffic police promise that registration would take only two hours and cost Br 55,000, plate fees inclusive. Additionally, scooters will have to be insured at the price of Euro 5.3 per one cubic centimeter. Riders will also have to pass exams for Category A driving permits.
But not only drunkards are to blame for road accidents. Nasha Niva newspaper reported about a lorry driver who knocked a woman at an uncontrolled pedestrian crossing, killing her seven-month baby.
“The driver is licensed to drive all categories of vehicles and has 30 years of driving experience. He is detained and faces prosecution”.
What if not drunkards and scooters? To this, traffic inspectors also have an answer: geomagnetic zones.
“The geomagnetic factor also contributes to a certain degree to the situation on roads”, Anatol Suchko from the Interior’s Traffic Police Inspectorate told the Interfax news agency.
It is interesting that the traffic police in Belarus has even contracted scientists to research what undermines safety on Belarusian roads. It turns out that the problems lies in methodology. The traffic police handle accidents according to the following logical chain: accident – investigation – punishment. In the West, the other method is used to study the chain of events that led to the accident.
Meanwhile, researches show that road (location, design, markings, lights, signs) should be blamed for half of accidents, wrote newspaper Respublika.
Nasha Niva reader Valzhyna suggests the reason is simpler.
“The culture of behavior on roads should be improved. This applies to ALL participants of the road traffic! People die on roads every month, but we are learning to respect each other the way too slowly”.
