There is no time for snowy romance in a snowstorm: how the traffic police of the Vitebsk region checks minibuses

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The working day for many Vitebsk minibus drivers begins at 5.30. At this time, the cars they have prepared fill the cabin with sleepy passengers. Closer to 7, it’s already rush hour, when the work of those driving route vehicles often comes under the close attention of traffic police officers. Of course, control is carried out around the clock, but during mass movements of citizens, the fight against violators is more intense. For example, on the morning of November 30, 26 such facts were recorded in just two hours of the raid.

A mobile crew conducts a raid on a snow-covered street in Kirov, near the train and bus stations. The place is crowded, popular at almost any time of the day. In a hurry, many may not notice the original work of nature, which continues to apply light touches: Vitebsk has been covered with snow in recent days, all the houses, trees, and parked cars are under white hoods. Before turning onto Cosmonauts Street towards the Polotsk overpass, many minibuses drop off passengers at the bus stop.

Traffic police inspector of the fourth platoon of the Moscow State Automobile Inspectorate, Department of Internal Affairs of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, Vadim Zakharenok

The attention of the traffic police officers who are serving here today was attracted by snow-covered license plates. At the wheel is a driver with more than 30 years of experience, Vladimir Varlamov. The man had to work in more difficult conditions. “I have northern experience - I traveled in Chukotka for six years on hummocks and hills in the winter. Here this experience helps me,” he says. “You need to concentrate, you should never fuss and it is always important to understand where to slow down and where to change gear.” .

Given the weather conditions, the man was given only a verbal reprimand. He himself immediately corrected the violation. “As soon as winter began, it was difficult. It’s hard to say what will happen next, but we will all cope,” the minibus driver voiced his forecasts for the cold season.

There are problem areas in Vitebsk where minibus drivers are noticed for violations especially often. The list is headed by the area next to the GREENCENTR shopping center, closer to the stops on Voinov-Internationalistov and General Margelov streets, Chkalova street, Moskovsky prospect.

“Even if you take the intersection of Moskovsky Avenue - Tereshkova Street at rush hour, then drivers of minibuses often go around everyone else, driving behind the stop line when the traffic light is prohibiting. Kirov and Kosmonavtov streets in the area of ​​​​the station - here they often try to drive through the red light,” - explains the senior inspector of the road patrol service of the fourth platoon of the traffic police company of the Moscow State Automobile Inspectorate of the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, police captain Andrei Shatov.

Senior inspector of the road patrol service of the fourth platoon of the traffic police company of the Moscow State Automobile Inspectorate of the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee Andrey Shatov

And on the last day of November, employees observed a whole range of violations by minibus drivers. As they themselves note, it is good that these facts were not so significant and did not lead to dire consequences. Drivers moved in a lane prohibited for them, installed curtains in the cabin that were not provided for by the design of the car, and violated maneuvering rules.

“Some drive with faulty light devices,” continues Andrei Shatov. “Others drive through a prohibiting traffic light, turn left or right from the lane that prohibits movement in this direction. And as an excuse they cite the fact that they do not fit into a difficult work schedule. It happens that they drive away from stopping points with the door open. During rush hour, they carry more passengers than the norm provided for by the design of the car: the so-called “overload" - every second minibus driver. But another problem is problematic: it is not possible to compile materials on the spot, so you have to call either summonses, or arrive at the final stopping point to save passengers’ time.”

Traffic police officers mark drivers during open and covert control. A mobile unit on a car without special painting records “sins” and transmits the data to colleagues in the car with the appropriate wrapping and beacons.

It happens that employees board a minibus in civilian clothes under the guise of a simple passenger and record what is happening on their phone or video recorder. While driving, you meet taxi and minibus drivers with a phone to their ear. It is believed that this phenomenon is widespread mainly among taxi drivers who use mobile applications to take orders and communicate. However, today, November 30, one minibus driver stubbornly tried to refute this statement.

The driver of minibus No. 57 was caught twice for the raid. First, he was stopped on Kirov Street, noticing additional curtains installed in front of the driver's seat. The man did not have all the documents with him, but he promised to be with them at the final stop. At the other end of the city he was stopped about an hour later. The curtains were removed, the papers were in place, but the driver forgot to turn on the turn signal when approaching the stop and was seen talking on the phone.

“We try not to break the rules, but, as you can see, we are not without flaws,” says the driver of one of the minibuses, Evgeniy Zherebyatyev. “We understand that the main thing is not to rush anywhere, so that the passengers are transported calmly and the car remains intact and in good working order. And to go on a trip it's necessary - people are waiting. During the day, I can't say there are a lot of passengers, but during rush hour it's hard: you drive past stops if you're fully loaded. You call the dispatcher that you can't make it in time. They should change the schedules and stretch them out for a couple of minutes, but they added it to our route "Medcenter microdistrict (we used to go to Yug-7 - it's closer), but the schedules were left the same. We have to skip stops if passengers don't need to get off at them."

As the driver added, the serviceability of transport is a special point; the car is inspected after each shift, and if necessary, more often, because HEALTH and life are more important than haste.

Since the beginning of the year, more than 4.5 thousand traffic violations have been registered in the Vitebsk region by persons engaged in regular or irregular passenger transportation. We are talking about both the simplest (talking on a mobile phone, seat belts, etc.) and gross violations (drunk drivers who do not have a driving license). No serious accidents involving minibus drivers have been recorded in the region this year.

“There were accidents with material damage, where people were not injured, but there was only mechanical damage to the transport. If we talk about taxi cars, then since the beginning of the year they have been involved in 12 accidents (one more than in the same period in 2022). In these accidents, one person was killed and 13 were injured. We are seeing a decrease in the number of accidents caused by taxi drivers. One driver was detained for driving in a state of disrepair.ALCOHOL intoxication , and thirteen drivers carrying passengers without the right to drive vehicles,” noted Nadezhda Kasperovich, HEAD of the agitation and propaganda department of the State Traffic Inspectorate of the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee.

Not only the drivers themselves, but also the people who allow them to participate in road traffic are responsible for such violations, the State Traffic Inspectorate reminds. The car itself must be in good working order and properly equipped technically. Among the requirements for minibuses are the presence of a first aid kit, a fire extinguisher, warning triangles, working lighting devices, and others.

Currently, a special event is being held in the region to monitor compliance with traffic rules by drivers of route vehicles. Plus, traffic police officers participate in joint raids with the BEP, transport and tax inspections. Here the focus is on the so-called illegal drivers. A little over a week ago, on November 21, a 36-year-old individual entrepreneur was spotted on the Vitebsk- MINSK highway. The man, for a fee, carried out regular transportation of passengers on the route Vitebsk - Beshenkovichi without special permission. Another 32-year-old driver was transporting passengers without state registration. The next day, employees of the BEP, the State Traffic Inspectorate of the Orsha District Department of Internal Affairs and the branch of the Transport Inspectorate for the region and the Ministry of Taxation detained a 73-year-old individual entrepreneur. The man also transported people from Orsha to Dubrovno without special permission. In all these cases, the vehicles were seized. An administrative process has been initiated against drivers for illegal business activities.

Eyewitnesses themselves provide clues. For example, caring people send videos from dashcams and mobile phones to the direct messages of traffic police accounts on Instagram. At the same time, the employees themselves monitor popular groups on social networks where such videos appear, find and invite the leading actors of exciting films to respond. Recently, photos and videos of a minibus overloaded with passengers were shared by residents of Polotsk - the offender was identified and punished.

Inspectors urge drivers - both minibuses and any transport - not to complicate the already difficult road situation. And the location does not play a role here: locality or highway. The snow almost never stops, so residents of the region are asked, if possible, to avoid traveling by personal transport and use public transport. For those who are forced to drive taxis or minibuses, the traffic police recommends taking precautions and not chasing profit, wanting to earn more money.

“We don’t know what is under the snow cover: regular asphalt or covered with ice. As some people think: equipment drove by and sprinkled the road - that means the SALT has started to work, and you can press on the gas pedal, but it takes time for the salt to start working, it must roll out. It is important to choose a safe speed, even if it is somewhere around 40 or even 20 km/h. A special point is pedestrian crossings, in front of which it is better to reduce the speed in advance and be ready to let people through," Nadezhda Kasperovich explained.

Safe mode, distance, lateral spacing and maximum composure should be a priority for drivers, she added. From December 1, winter tires will also be added to the list of mandatory conditions. The traffic police conveys similar instructions to pedestrians, urging them not to forget to be attentive and respectful of other road users.

Evgenia ARKHIPOVA,

Photo by the author,

BELTA.