Safety barriers, markings and lighting appear later than drivers have access to a level roadbed.
During the meeting of the State Duma Committee on Transport with the participation of the Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation Vitaly Savelyev, the participants discussed the situation with road repairs. The head of the department noted that over the past year, a total of 26.8 thousand km of federal and regional roads were repaired in the country (6% more than in 2021); another 1.6 thousand km of roads were built in 2022 (15% more). Representatives of the Accounts Chamber also shared their opinion on the new asphalt.
According to the auditor Valery Bogomolov, referred to by Kommersant, in those places «where the roads are in excellent condition, where repairs and overhauls have been completed, the death rate is increasing.» He explained this by the fact that drivers start to drive faster in such sections, while barrier fences, additional lighting, markings and warning road signs are “not installed immediately”, which ultimately leads to accidents with serious consequences.
It is worth noting that Valery Bogomolov did not provide statistical data that would confirm the statement of the Accounts Chamber. At the same time, according to the calculations of the traffic police, last year the death rate on federal highways fell by 8.3%, and on the roads of regional and intermunicipal significance, the figure decreased by 1.4%. Although, judging by the statistics, there are also those regions of the Russian Federation where the number of deaths in road accidents increased over the past year, this list includes the Lipetsk region, Yakutia, the Republic of Khakassia.
In the fall of 2022, this issue of high mortality after road repairs was raised by the head of the traffic police, Mikhail Chernikov. He noted that it is necessary to legislate the list of mandatory works that must be performed along with the replacement of the coating (we are talking about the installation of lighting masts, separation barriers, pedestrian crossings, etc.).
As recalled in the publication, in 2018 the Ministry of Transport issued methodological recommendations regarding the “direction of funds for road safety activities.” According to this document, the money received from fines should be used to improve the organization of traffic in the regions (including traffic lights and markings). However, this tutorial is not mandatory.
In the same 2018, the Safe High-Quality Roads national project was launched: as part of it, the main part of Russian roads are currently being repaired. According to the Accounts Chamber, now more than 50% of regional routes already comply with the established standards. According to the coordinator of the project «Map of dead roads» Alexander Vasiliev, the problem raised by the Accounts Chamber has existed for more than a year. “For many heads of municipalities, the main thing was to eliminate potholes and make a smooth road, they didn’t think about the rest,” he comments. “As a result, the roadway was often a runway, sometimes even without markings. It is not surprising that the increase in speed led to accidents.
It is worth noting that the road after the repair should not only be actually «smooth», but also wear-resistant. Last year, the Accounts Chamber also announced problems with the quality of road repairs: they became known after checking asphalt concrete pavement samples taken from sites repaired in 2019-2021 in several regions of the Russian Federation (some of the samples simply crumbled after testing).