"Goats" and pit bikes: how to improve safety on the roads of the Russian Federation

The emergence of new modes of transport requires changes in traffic regulations and adaptation of the road infrastructure to them. Members of the Public Board and experts propose to introduce testing of drivers for knowledge of "theory", to break SIMs into crash tests, and to stop equating pit bikes with "gymnastic goats" and introduce special certification rules for this technique. The details are in the Izvestia article.

SIM-SIM, don't fight!

The active development of new modes of transport requires appropriate changes in traffic regulations and adaptation of existing regulations to them. This was stated by Vladimir Korobchak, a member of the Public Chamber's Commission on Security and Interaction with Public Health Organizations, during the round table "Roads of the Future: Security and Innovations in Personal Mobility." This is a very difficult issue, on which, even during discussions in the OP, it is often not possible to come to a consensus, he admitted. In his opinion, one of the problems associated with accidents on the roads is the recent mass appearance of personal mobility equipment (IMS) on the streets.

— A special issue is the deliverymen using electric bicycles. The violations committed by them are quite difficult to identify, and it is difficult to bring them to justice," he said.

According to the Scientific Center for Road Safety (NC BDD) The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, in the first nine months of this year, 1885 road accidents occurred with the participation of drivers of bicycles with an electric motor, which are similar in their technical characteristics to these, and in some cases to mopeds, in which 41 people died and 1911 were injured. Delivery service workers were responsible for 723 such accidents (38.6%); 11 people were killed and 729 injured, according to the NC BDD.

One of the reasons for such incidents is the low level of infrastructure for SIM and similar equipment, says Vladimir Sokolov, chairman of the interregional public movement Union of Pedestrians. In the last few years, the sidewalk, which was originally a place for pedestrians, no longer belongs to them, he noted.

— Now pedestrians are forced to share sidewalks with sims, bicycles, scooters, delivery robots. Obviously, with the development of these types of equipment, it is necessary to change the infrastructure. And where this process is lagging behind, restrictions and temporary bans should be introduced for SIM and other similar modes of transport," Vladimir Sokolov believes.

It is necessary to increase the constructive safety of SIM, says Vitaly Gaevsky, Professor of the Department of Automobiles at MADI, Associate Professor, Doctor of Technical Sciences.

— It is necessary to carry out crash tests of this technique. This will allow you to adjust the technical requirements for SIM, increase their stability, and reduce the center of gravity. In the future, this will make it possible to develop SIM cards adapted for older people and people with disabilities," he said.

Infrastructure and more

Along with the development of the relevant infrastructure, the issue of preventing violations committed by SIM operators and the inevitability of penalties for these offenses is quite acute, said Ksenia Erdman, director of the Association of Micromobility Operators. Moreover, special attention should be paid to those who use personal SIM cards, she emphasizes.

— Kicksharing operators have long had internal sanctions for users for violations of the rules of operation of rental SIM cards — from fines that reach up to 100 thousand rubles to account blocking. With private SIMS, everything is much more difficult: it is much harder to identify violations committed by them and bring them to justice," said Ksenia Erdman.

In her opinion, the problem lies primarily in "insufficient regulation." The draft laws on SIM registration, as well as strengthening administrative responsibility for traffic violations committed by drivers of this equipment, were developed more than two years ago, she recalled. However, so far these amendments have either been adopted only in the first reading, or they have not even been considered at all, the expert stressed.

At the same time, without the appropriate technological and information development of digital systems, the adoption of these bills will be ineffective, Ksenia Erdman notes.

— After the numbers appeared on all rental SIM cards in Moscow, many regions decided to follow this example. But it's not enough to just install the numbers — it's necessary that cameras be able to recognize them, not only on the roadway, but also on sidewalks, and such technologies are not yet available everywhere," said the director of the Association of Micromobility Operators.

Sports equipment on the roads

Another very serious problem is the large number of pit bikes that have appeared on public roads recently, said Valery Soldunov, a member of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation and chairman of the All-Russian Society of Motorists.

— The situation is aggravated by the fact that very often this equipment is operated by children and teenagers who, in principle, do not have driver's licenses, do not know traffic regulations and do not know how to operate it properly. As a result, the number of pit bike accidents has increased," he said.

According to the results of the three quarters of this year, the NCBDD of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation noted an increase in the main accident rates involving underage drivers. The number of such accidents increased by 10.2% to 2,535 compared to the first nine months of last year. 68 minors died in them (+15.3%), 2.5 thousand children and teenagers were injured (+ 10.1%). In the vast majority of such accidents (77.6%), children drove motor vehicles, including pit bikes.

According to Valery Soldunov, to a large extent the blame lies with adults who either leave the keys to motor vehicles in a place accessible to children, or buy a pit bike for a child as a gift. It is possible to reduce the number of such incidents through targeted preventive work, primarily with parents, explaining and clearly showing them that such gifts can lead to severe injury to their own children or cost them their lives, he noted.

In addition to explanatory work, it is necessary to limit the possibility of such equipment appearing on public roads, believes Igor Morzharetto, a member of the presidium of the Public Council under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation.

— Now a pit bike is not a vehicle, but a sports equipment. From the point of view of legislation, this technique is actually equated to a hockey stick, a tennis racket or a gymnastic "goat". But neither a stick, nor a racket, nor a "goat" can drive on the road, and pit bikes, despite the fact that it is officially prohibited, are found on the roads quite often. It is necessary to introduce a separate certification for this motor vehicle so that it is considered a special mode of transport and separate additional requirements are imposed on it," the expert believes.

To remind you about the rules

Many motorists, especially those who graduated from driving school long ago, could have already forgotten the traffic regulations, said Andrey Orlov, chairman of the Commission on Public Safety, interaction with judicial, law enforcement agencies, legislation, regulations and ethics of the Public Chamber of the Leningrad Region. He considers it necessary to introduce testing for knowledge of traffic regulations when updating a driver's license every ten years.

— This can be done not for all drivers, but, for example, only for those who have committed a certain number of violations over a certain period of time, — he explained.

Since 2022, changes to traffic regulations have already been made eight times, said Dmitry Mitroshin, head of the Scientific Center for Road Safety of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, police Colonel. The key amendments were those that defined the legal status of the SIM, as well as clarifying the requirements for child restraints and the rules for granting advantages to cars with special signals turned on, he noted.

— Of course, traffic regulations must adapt, including new modes of transport. But any changes to this document should be as accurate and balanced as possible. At the moment, the Rules of the road fully meet modern realities," Dmitry Mitroshin emphasized.