Equipment of crossings and maintenance of highways: How to reduce road accidents in Pavlodar region
If in 2015 there were 1,021 road accidents in the region, then last year 705 accidents were recorded here. How to further reduce the risks on the highways and streets of the Pavlodar region, was discussed during a meeting of the interdepartmental commission for the prevention of offenses.
According to the first deputy chief of the police department, Zhaskairat Kairov, despite the decrease in the total number of accidents, more accidents are registered in some cities and regions. For example, in Ekibastuz for nine months of this year, 109 road traffic accidents were recorded, while last year there were 94. In Aksu there was an increase from 9 to 14 road accidents.
- One of the main causes of accidents - 124 facts - was speeding - 124 facts or 27.5% of the total number of road accidents, - explained Zhaskairat Kairov. - Due to the ban on the use of wearable radars in settlements, it becomes necessary to install stationary speed meters operating in automatic mode. At present, out of 37 stationary systems installed only in the city of Pavlodar, only 21 objects are in good condition. It is necessary to increase the number of automated systems for fixing traffic violations in Pavlodar, as well as to provide for their installation in Ekibastuz and Aksu.
According to the police, pedestrian crossings are another vulnerable spot on the roads of Pavlodar region. As their analysis showed, out of 970 zebras in the region, only 49 are equipped with traffic lights, 20 have lighting, and 75 have strobe lights. At the same time, 50 accidents have occurred at unregulated pedestrian crossings since the beginning of the year, in which one person died and 87 were injured. Earlier, law enforcement officers recommended installing traffic lights at 12 dangerous sections of Pavlodar and in five similar places in Ekibastuz. In both cases, the city has already begun designing the intersection and has promised to complete the work next year.
“In our work, we need to move away from the priority of motorists in favor of pedestrians,” said the akim of Pavlodar region Abylkair Skakov. - Moreover, it is necessary to create a safe infrastructure, first of all in Pavlodar, within the existing budgets. In general, in each local akimat, together with the police, they must approve plans for the development of transport and pedestrian infrastructure by the end of this year and next year.
At the working meeting we also talked about another problem - the winter maintenance of suburban tracks. Аccording to the police, 71 accidents occurred on the roads of republican significance in the region last winter. But, apparently, the road services did not learn from this lesson, because today they were not provided with a sufficient amount of inert and fuels and lubricants.
“Of the available 93 units of special equipment, 24 require repair,” stressed Zhaskairat Kairov. - On the territory of our region there are more than 1.6 thousand kilometers of republican roads and 55 combined road vehicles are needed for their proper maintenance, although in fact there are only 36 units, seven of which are out of order.
The head of the region demanded that law enforcement officers constantly monitor the readiness of the road workers and inform the population about all contractors' shortcomings, who experience inconvenience in the event of the closure of snow-covered roads.
Press service of the akim of Pavlodar region
Photo by Valery Bugaev