Injuries and deaths of cyclists: what statistics say and how the traffic police fights the

Cyclists and pedestrians are known to be the most vulnerable road users. For half a year in Belarus there were 107 accidents with cyclists, in which 11 people died. Four pedestrians have been hit to death on crossings since early July. Increasingly, fans of electric scooters are injured. To prevent such tragedies, from July 19 to July 28, the traffic police will hold a national action "Be safe!". BelTA's correspondent talked to Deputy Head of Supervisory and Registration and Examination Activities Department - Head of the Department of Traffic Management and Road Inspection of the Main Directorate of the State Traffic Inspectorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Dmitry Navoi about how to protect cyclists and pedestrians from injuries on the roads.

- Dmitry Valeryevich, first of all, what rules should cyclists follow in order to protect themselves?

- The life of a cyclist primarily depends on his own responsibility. Do not neglect the elementary safety rules.

Under no circumstances should you ride a bicycle while under the influence of alcohol .

It is prohibited to carry passengers on a bicycle. This does not apply to children, but a child passenger must be wearing a helmet and a special seat.

Outside the city, it is safest to travel during daylight hours. In the evening, the main rule is to wear reflective vests. The bicycle must be equipped not only with reflectors, but also with lights - front and rear. The motorist may not notice the flicker, especially when the headlights are oncoming.

In addition, it is recommended to drive on the side of the road at a distance of at least 1 m from the edge of the carriageway.

- Under what circumstances do cyclists get into accidents most often?

Most fatal accidents involving cyclists occur on highways. The largest share of such accidents occurs on republican roads - 45%. 22% - on local roads, the same amount - on small settlements. As for the regional centers and the capital, 11% of fatal accidents with cyclists are registered there. If we talk about injury to cyclists, then, on the contrary, it occurs more often in settlements, and not outside the city.

It can be noted that accidents with cyclists do not happen on highways. The point is that we insist that expressways are not for cyclists, but for cars.

What time of day do cyclists most often get into accidents?

- The largest percentage falls on the interval from 7.00 to 8.00. In the evening, there are also collisions with cyclists: this is from 16.00 to 18.00. This is especially true of the time of year when it gets lighter late and darker early. Why does this happen at all? If we are talking about villages, then there, as a rule, people go to work at this time. And outside the city, a bicycle is a very popular means of transportation.

- How does the State Traffic Inspectorate deal with injuries and deaths of cyclists on the roads?

- We are working on infrastructure development. In 2018, we approved the concept for the development of cycling in Belarus. It often happens that roadsides in rural areas are not equipped for cyclists and they go onto the roadway. If this happens at night, and the cyclists still do not have a vest, then the risk of tragedy is very high. Therefore, we create separate bike paths.

Pedestrian crossings should be built underground on highways. At the same time, they should be without steps, that is, barrier-free, so that both cyclists and people with disabilities can easily go down there. The traffic police supports the creation of a barrier-free environment on the roads of the first category.

In addition, we peeped ideas from countries that are leaders in the field of road safety. For example, we have now proposed the following initiative to the Road Safety Commission under the Council of Ministers. Instead of putting up signs, we must create conditions that will prevent and eliminate violations. A simple example. At the entrances to settlements, we suggest equipping safety islands or mini-rings. At the same time, the road lane narrows, the width of which is a speed control tool. That is, the wider the strip, the more speed you can gain when turning. Therefore, we propose to narrow lanes at the entrances to settlements. This has already been tested on some road sections of the Minsk region. This is the practice of countries like the Netherlands and Sweden. Instead of limiting speed with signs,

- What else does the concept of development of cycling in our country provide for?

- It so happened that for some time in our country cycling was practically not developed. As a rule, cyclists met mainly in rural areas. Now there are no less fans of two-wheeled transport in the city. At the same time, it is important to ensure comfort for all road users - they are all our citizens.

We see cycling as an alternative to cars - more economical, healthy and environmentally friendly. Our concept for the development of cycling states that in small towns we plan to increase the number of cyclists to 20%. In rural settlements and at all 40%. But they need to create appropriate conditions, so we are talking about the development of infrastructure.

- How is this infrastructure developing in large cities?

- In Minsk, there are sections where 150 cyclists pass in one hour. If there are 150 pedestrians in the same area, then we have to separate them. As a short-term measure, marking can be called. Where there is an intersection with the roadway, we create crossings for the bike. If there are many cyclists passing by, we paint these crossings green. This alerts the driver. In total, we have 990 such bike crossings, 213 of which are green, and 777 are ordinary.

- What can be done to reduce conflicts between road users?

- There are two sides here: on one side there is mutual understanding, on the other - the creation of infrastructure.

It happens that pedestrians begin to resent, they say, part of the sidewalk was taken from them. That is, the mother used to make sure that the child did not run out onto the roadway, but now she also watches the bike paths. But this is a temporary measure - of course, in the future it is necessary to introduce full-fledged separate bike paths so that the same child simply does not have the opportunity to run out under the wheels of a scooter or bicycle.

In the city, if you make a kind of pyramid, the main participant in the road traffic is a pedestrian: a child, a mother with a stroller, an elderly person. Next come cyclists and pedestrians using personal mobility aids. Then public transport, and only then - a car for personal use. They all must respect each other. For example, if a child runs onto a bike path, there is no need to make a tragedy out of this - you can honk or go around him.

Outside the city, the situation is different: there is a car in the first place, and our task is to restrict access there for pedestrians.

Andrey VOROPAY,

BELTA.