Traffic issue

In the minds of most motorists, a good road is a road with new asphalt, on which there are no holes, bumps and potholes. However, just having a flat highway does not always mean that it is safe. Izvestia found out what road factors affect the state of accidents.

Smooth does not mean safe

Since 2019, more than 150,000 km of highways have been repaired, reconstructed and built in our country as part of the national project "Safe, high-quality Roads". If six years ago the share of roads in urban agglomerations in standard condition was only 44%, by the end of last year this figure had almost doubled to 85.7%. On regional highways, this figure increased from 43.6% to 55.2%. According to a survey conducted by VTsIOM, 56% of Russians are satisfied with the quality and accessibility of regional and local highways: in three years, their number has increased by 7%.

However, the Traffic Police emphasize that it is not enough to simply build a new highway or reconstruct an existing one. Of course, potholes, bumps or ruts are unacceptable, the department notes. In GOST R 50597-2017 "Automobile roads and streets. Requirements for the operational condition acceptable under the conditions of road safety. Control methods" specify standards regarding the quality of the roadway. For example, a manhole cover should not sag or protrude more than 1 cm above the asphalt, and asphalt that is "sagged" by more than 5 cm must be replaced on the entire defective section of the road. These and other indicators of the evenness of the roadway are constantly monitored by inspectors of road supervision units using special rails, the State Traffic Inspectorate emphasizes.

Due to road defects, accidents can occur even on a perfectly flat highway. Thus, according to official accident statistics, the main or concomitant cause of about a quarter of all car accidents is a violation of requirements for the operational condition and road construction. Because of this, more than 37.5 thousand car accidents occurred last year. However, the situation with such incidents is gradually improving, with 4.7% fewer than in 2023.

Find your place

One of the main conditions in the event of such accidents is the "invisibility" of the markings, which is a concomitant factor in car accidents. According to the analysis of the NC BDD, more than half of all car accidents related to the unsatisfactory condition of highways occurred last year. Bright and visible markings are one of the key factors of road safety, according to the head of the propaganda Department of the Main Directorate for Road Safety The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia Sergey Hrantskevich. It is the markings that will allow the driver to determine his location on the road, avoid entering the oncoming lane or into a ditch, so it is very important that it is clearly visible to motorists, he stressed.

— As a rule, there are no problems with recognizing road markings during daylight hours. But at night, and especially during rain, if the requirements for retroreflective ability are not met, the markings may become invisible. And then the driver may lose his bearings on the highway, which is fraught with an accident," he said.

To avoid this, inspectors of the traffic police departments of the State Traffic Inspectorate constantly monitor the "visibility" of road markings and signs, Sergei Hrantskevich noted. Of course, they do this not "by eye", but with the help of special devices — luxometers and refractometers. They record how well the markings or the sign reflect the light of the car's headlights at night and in bad weather. If the readings do not meet the established standards, organizations operating such a section of the highway are given instructions to replace the markings and "invisible" road signs, said the head of the propaganda department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia.

Since 2019, as part of the national project "Safe, high-quality Roads", several thousand devices and equipment have been supplied to the State Traffic Inspectorate units to monitor the compliance of highways with established parameters, the traffic police noted.

Own lane

An equally important factor that must be taken into account when building or reconstructing a road is engineering solutions that allow the vehicle to be left within the roadway and prevent it from entering the oncoming lane, the State Traffic Inspectorate notes.

— In some cases, due to the terrain features, it is impossible to make the highway straight. When the road turns, the risk of driving into a ditch increases significantly, especially if the driver has chosen the wrong speed limit. To avoid this, during the construction and reconstruction of the highway, such potentially dangerous places are equipped with bumpers that allow the vehicle to be left within the roadway. They are designed in such a way as to minimize the severity of the consequences of tipping over," explained Sergey Hrantskevich.

According to statistics, about 6.5% of accidents occur due to driving into the oncoming lane. However, these car accidents are characterized by a very high severity of consequences: last year, about a quarter of all people killed in road accidents became victims of such accidents. The most reliable way to avoid car accidents on the "oncoming lane" is to prevent the very possibility of vehicles entering the oncoming lane.

— During the construction or reconstruction of highways, special attention is paid to the installation of barriers or cable fences that delimit oncoming traffic wherever possible. This minimizes the risk of the most severe head—on accidents," emphasized Sergey Hrantskevich.

Let there be light!

An important factor in ensuring safety on highways is their lighting. Of course, it is impossible to put lights on all, almost 1.6 million kilometers of Russian roads. Nevertheless, the issue of lighting is under constant attention of the State Traffic Inspectorate.

— These are, first of all, sections of highways passing through populated areas, pedestrian crossings, intersections, railway crossings and other potentially dangerous places on the road. Moreover, dornadzor inspectors not only monitor the presence of lanterns, but also the level of illumination. If necessary, operating organizations are given instructions to install additional light sources or increase the power of existing ones," said the head of the Propaganda Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia.

Comprehensive security

According to the instructions of Russian President Vladimir Putin, 85% of federal highways and 60% of regional highways must meet regulatory requirements by 2030. By this time, the death rate on the roads, compared with 2023, should decrease by one and a half times, and by 2036 — by half. These parameters are fixed in the new national project "Infrastructure for Life", which became the successor to the national project "Safe high-quality roads". Among other measures, it provides for a major modernization of the highway network, including the creation of 50 transport bypasses of cities.

— This work must be carried out comprehensively. It will be very difficult to achieve the planned reduction in traffic accidents by building new and reconstructing existing highways without installing bumpers, dividing barriers, lighting, road signs and traffic lights, arranging pedestrian crossings, and public transport stops," said Sergey Hrantskevich, head of the Propaganda Department of the State Traffic Inspectorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia.

The material was created as part of the implementation of the federal project "Road Safety" of the national project "Infrastructure for Life".