The conference titled Road Safety: Effective Steps to Zero Mortality took place during the Road 2022 fair in Kazan, held from October 12 to 14. Police Lieutenant General Mikhail Chernikov, who leads the Main Directorate for Road Safety within the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, spoke at the event. He reminded attendees that when the national project Safe Quality Roads and the Road Safety Strategy were adopted in 2018, discussions focused on achieving four deaths per 100,000 people and pursuing a target of zero mortality by 2030. A broad toolkit has already been deployed with positive results, yet some challenges persist and current measures are nearing their limits.
During his remarks, Chernikov, head of the traffic safety directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, emphasized several key points about the road safety program. He noted that the road network remains the most expansive and well-funded component of the national Safe Quality Roads initiative, with 15 percent of funding explicitly earmarked for road safety. He urged that program documentation clearly detail essential safety elements such as striping, lighting, pedestrian crosswalks, sidewalks, and physical separation of traffic streams, including the benefits of additional lanes where appropriate. These elements, he argued, must be itemized in project regulations to avoid vague or missing provisions.
Chernikov called for greater collaboration across agencies to identify and integrate all safety components within every road project. He asserted that starting in 2023, every new initiative should spell out these components without ambiguity. Any project proposal that omits or obscures these safety measures should not be approved.
In addition, the speaker highlighted the concept of an accident hotbed – locations with a high incidence of crashes. He cited data from the State Traffic Inspectorate indicating that addressing these hotspots could require substantial investment, with estimates around 500 billion rubles aimed at reducing accident rates in these critical places.
On the topic of speed and enforcement, Chernikov discussed the proposal to lower speed limits, noting the vast scale of the country’s road network, which totals about 1.5 million kilometers. He argued against reducing speed limits, stating that the National Traffic Inspectorate does not support such a move and that efficiency on the roads should be increased instead.
With respect to camera enforcement in Tatarstan, the speaker observed that in 2021 the number of active cameras stabilized due to technical constraints preventing full integration of all complexes. Despite this, the region continues to lead in the use of photo and video monitoring to deter traffic violations. Chernikov emphasized that while cameras contribute to reducing crashes, the antidote to unsafe driving should go beyond penalties. He urged a shift in focus toward changing driver behavior and preventing offenses through proactive safety education and improvements to road design and operations.
In closing, Chernikov urged the relevant departments to work in unison to achieve meaningful reductions in traffic accidents and fatalities by 2030. The shared objective remains clear: safer roads through coordinated planning, precise regulatory requirements, and a stronger emphasis on preventive behavior and infrastructure improvements.
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