In 2000, Russia had 754,000 kilometers of paved road, a figure that increased only marginally by 2008, and at a cost much higher than in the West. Roads in Russia have a high number of fatalities. Each day, there are 570 accidents on the country’s highways which lead to almost 35,000 deaths per year. Road accidents in Russia inflict damage to the country’s economy estimated at 2.5 percent of its GDP.
It is estimated that 80 percent of traffic lights on the country’s roads have already been used for a period exceeding their service life, while only 85 percent of the highway network is equipped with road signs. There seems to be general agreement that the condition of the roads don’t correspond to the increase in number of vehicles throughout the country. In the last 10 years, road accidents have killed some 315,000 people, and left almost two million wounded.
Russia’s increasing number of deaths on the roads parallel a demographic crisis that is alarming high officials in the country, a situation they have promised to address. Russia’s population is falling by more than 750,000 people a year. At the same time, the average Russian man has a life span of 58 years, 17 years less than the average German man and 20 years less than men in Japan or Hong Kong.
An historical example may be useful. After the end of WWII, General Mac Arthur and his staff helped a devastated Japan rebuild itself. He requested the collaboration of leading Japanese scientists and technicians to conduct a plan for national reconstruction. The Japanese asked for two things: help in building schools and in re-establishing the communications network by building roads, highways and airports. Today Japan is the world’s second economic power.
Public policies are critical for lowering the number and negative impact of traffic accidents. The United Kingdom, Sweden, and the Netherlands have reported dramatic reductions in road-casualty levels following wide-ranging approaches to road safety.
Russian authorities should strengthen prevention efforts—the best way to avoid road accidents—through massive and sustained education campaigns in schools and through mass media, and should also enforce stringent penalties for those not using safety belts. At the same time, health authorities should plan more immediate and efficient attention to those hurt in traffic accidents, increasing the number of ambulances and providing them with basic equipment to save a person’s life.
Victor Kiryanov, Head of the Department of Road Safety in the Russian Federation’s Ministry of Internal Affairs stated at the UN Sixty-second General Assembly that traffic accidents not only create socio-economic expenses for victims and their families, but place an onerous burden on public health services. He stressed that it is vitally important to reduce the number of traffic accidents in order to achieve socio-economic development. The Russian Federation’s decision to hold the first global high-level conference on road safety in 2009, thus increasing awareness about the problem, is a step in the right direction.
Dr. César Chelala is an international public health consultant. He is the foreign correspondent for The Middle East Times International (Australia).
