Republican preventive campaign «Save your life!»

November 19, 2024

From November 20 to 26, the republican preventive campaign "Save Your Life!" is being held, aimed at preventing road traffic accidents involving vulnerable road users.

Collisions with pedestrians are one of the most common types of road traffic accidents, resulting in serious health damage or even death.

A pedestrian is the most numerous road user, endowed with certain rights and responsibilities. Accident statistics show that there are many reasons for collisions with pedestrians, but among the main ones are their failure to comply with traffic rules, excessive self-confidence, and disregard for basic safety measures.

In autumn, people prefer to wear dark-colored, inconspicuous clothing and walk along the roadway instead of the shoulder, thus putting their lives at risk from vehicles. After all, the laws of physics have not been canceled, and a driver who sees a pedestrian a few meters away does not have time to react and avoid a collision. Therefore, the use of retroreflective elements by pedestrians in the dark or in bad weather remains one of the effective ways to ensure their safety on the road. An illuminated pedestrian is visible in low beam headlights at a distance of 140-150 meters, and in high beam - 300-400 meters. And the driver has time to prevent a collision, i.e., to reduce speed and be more attentive. The pedestrian should place the reflector in a place where it will be clearly visible to drivers.

The most dangerous categories of pedestrians are children, the elderly, and intoxicated individuals. If a driver notices any of these categories of pedestrians near the roadway, they must be prepared for the most unpredictable. The driver needs to attract the attention of such a pedestrian, flash their headlights, honk, or even perform emergency braking. It is also very important to consider that on roads adjacent to populated areas, there is a high probability of sudden appearance of pedestrians or cyclists on the roadway.

To avoid road traffic accidents, pedestrians should walk on sidewalks, pedestrian or bicycle paths, and where these are absent, along the shoulders. In places where the aforementioned road elements are missing, pedestrians

may move along the roadway against the flow of traffic in order to see approaching vehicles and yield to them in a timely manner. In such cases, pedestrians should walk as close as possible to the edge of the roadway to occupy minimal space and not impede the movement of vehicles.

Pedestrians must cross the roadway at pedestrian crossings. In their absence at intersections, they must move along the line of sidewalks and shoulders, ensuring that entering the roadway is safe. If there are no marked pedestrian crossings and intersections within sight, pedestrians must cross the roadway in a section where it is clearly visible in both directions and along the shortest path.

For violating the rules, a pedestrian is subject to administrative liability in the form of a fine, which ranges from 1 to 3 base amounts. The same actions committed by an intoxicated pedestrian entail a fine of up to 5 base amounts.

The State Automobile Inspectorate urges citizens not to remain indifferent and to report instances of intoxicated pedestrians or cyclists on the road by calling 102, whose behavior is unsafe and requires immediate measures to remove them from the roadway. Perhaps your call will help prevent misfortune and avoid tragedy.

 

Senior Traffic Police Inspector of the Department of Internal Affairs of the Glubokskoye District Department of Internal Affairs, Police Captain E.A. Sivitckiy