By the end of 2022, the number of accidents on Russian roads fell by 5%, the number of fatalities in road accidents by 4.7% and the number of injuries by 4.9%. Speaking at the Forum of Road Initiatives in Sochi, Oleg Ponaryin, deputy head of the main road safety inspectorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, noted that this is a good result, but, of course, we still have something to strive for. Only it becomes more and more difficult to deal with accidents, because “not everything is in our favor”.

Reflecting on road safety, the Major General of Police emphasized that it is a matrix made up of many components. And one of the most important is the quality of cars, and this is a problem after the events of February last year: domestic cars without ABS and other “airbags”; the “Chinese” who filled the showrooms, who until recently only “fought” in their own, “heavenly” crash tests, who can be recklessly trusted. And in general, the country’s vehicle fleet is quite outdated.

The result was not long in coming: according to the traffic police, in the first quarter of 2023, the number of accidents (compared to January-March 2022) increased by 2.6%, fatalities – by 2.8%, injuries – by 2% . The correspondent of the portal “AvtoVzglyad” after his speech turned to Mr. Ponarin – he asked what the traffic police were planning to do now, but in response he received only a dry “send a request to the press service.”

The fact that Deputy General Chernikov evaded such an awkward but more than appropriate question suggests that even the highest ranks are afraid to blurt out something superfluous or “truthful” – for fear of losing their familiar place in such difficult times. And this, in turn, means that everything is really bad. Maybe even worse than we think.

By the end of 2022, the number of accidents on Russian roads fell by 5%, the number of fatalities in road accidents by 4.7% and the number of injuries by 4.9%. Speaking at the Forum of Road Initiatives in Sochi, Oleg Ponaryin, deputy head of the main road safety inspectorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, noted that this is a good result, but, of course, we still have something to strive for. Only it becomes more and more difficult to deal with accidents, because “not everything is in our favor”.

Reflecting on road safety, the Major General of Police emphasized that it is a matrix made up of many components. And one of the most important is the quality of cars, and this is a problem after the events of February last year: domestic cars without ABS and other “airbags”; the “Chinese” who filled the showrooms, who until recently only “fought” in their own, “heavenly” crash tests, who can be recklessly trusted. And in general, the country’s vehicle fleet is quite outdated.

The result was not long in coming: according to the traffic police, in the first quarter of 2023, the number of accidents (compared to January-March 2022) increased by 2.6%, fatalities – by 2.8%, injuries – by 2% . The correspondent of the portal “AvtoVzglyad” after his speech turned to Mr. Ponarin – he asked what the traffic police were planning to do now, but in response he received only a dry “send a request to the press service.”

The fact that Deputy General Chernikov evaded such an awkward but more than appropriate question suggests that even the highest ranks are afraid to blurt out something superfluous or “truthful” – for fear of losing their familiar place in such difficult times. And this, in turn, means that everything is really bad. Maybe even worse than we think.