Here we have a traditional accident: M11 Moscow-St. 66 cars collided on the Novgorod section of the St. Petersburg toll highway. Four dead, 19 injured. This isn’t the first accident there. And it’s definitely not the last. Now I will explain why.
First of all, let me say this, I know this road, I have a house nearby, we passed on this highway. The highway itself is scary because there are almost no shoulders on it. There is no room to maneuver, there are crash stops on the right. Driving on the highway feels like you’re in a tunnel. For some reason, it was only after another major accident that the National Automobile Association asked for these right bumps to be removed. But this is not the most important thing.
Look: The accident occurred on ice and in a snowstorm. All drivers loudly insist that there is ice on the highway, the right lane is covered with snow, so the left lane is occupied. And the main thing is that at a speed limit of 70 km/h people travel at 110-130 km/h. This was confirmed by eyewitnesses and video from recording devices.
Can you imagine, right? There is black ice, visibility is below 100 meters and they are traveling at 130 km/h. Moreover, some of them, as they now report, are not completely shod with suitable winter tires. The culprit of an accident is the person who first lost control. This is a 70-year-old retiree who drives a Chinese car with summer or bald tires on the rear wheels. Judging by the video, the grandfather was driving more than a hundred kilometers per hour. On ice and in a blizzard! Another 65 cars crashed.
There are no questions about my grandfather, everything is clear. Why weren’t the sixty-five people following him slowing down? But because they accelerated to 130 km/h! Meanwhile, my family was returning from the cabin that day. My husband left the car in the village, he and his daughter went by train because we know that our driving is bad and there is a snowstorm and ice outside. We arrived safely by train with the dog. We then managed to go to the Christmas market and finally see the Christmas tree in Palace Square. But everything could have ended differently.
In Russia, people often drive badly. There are also regions where driving culture is very low. St. Petersburg is one of them. The city of car thieves and hustlers. In the city center we still have people parking on the sidewalks and honking their horns impatiently if a neighbor drives 70km. Yes, you can drive along Nevsky 70 and knock on the glass at the traffic lights: a brown-bellied brown-bellied person rushing furiously will not be too lazy to jump out at the intersection and tell you how slow he is. you! Rushing people on a two-lane highway in a snowstorm run back and forth and blink nervously. It is impossible to drive on the Ring Road, this is the worst place in the area, checkers rules there. On this road, even the dog in the car screams with fear. Moscow has never seen anything like it, at least I never drove on such a road in Moscow – so everyone was in a hurry and constantly changing lanes.
Same thing with M11. They’re shaking all the way. In our area, it is common for a driver to deliberately try to overtake in order to stop in front of a neighbor traveling at a higher cruising speed and go slower! This is illogical. Something that comes from compensatory thinking: People on the road are trying to cope with general dissatisfaction with their careers, opportunities, and prospects. Life beats them – they run into oncoming traffic so that at least for a minute they feel like winners in this life.
In general, the conversation about the M11 case should be reduced to the fact that we need to introduce both road legislation and its compliance with new standards on the value of life.
The value of human life has increased in Russia, but this is not noticeable on the roads. Our penalties are too light for rude and careless drivers; Driving culture is developing very slowly. Highway accidents are entirely a cultural issue. Eyewitnesses say that the 70 km limit was also present on the second day! People fell, one after another, before they could slow down. Because it’s clear: icy conditions, blizzards, everyone is in a hurry. This is low culture. Nobody follows the rules on this road. And he won’t comply! I read the discussion about the accident on local public pages: Many drivers directly say that they do not comply with any restrictions, that the restrictions are “for suckers”. One writes: “You just need to feel the road” the other: “If you and your chicken brain can’t drive fast, don’t disturb others.” I can just imagine these fat-bellied, bald, poor men running 80 miles through a blizzard in credit pits because they’re sure their brains aren’t chickens.
Many people on the Internet are responding in a downright rude way to calls to prosecute anyone caught on camera speeding at the time of an accident. By the way, I think pulling is also necessary. Convict two or more people directly of attempted murder, and impose real punishment on those who crashed and injured. And the decision published nationwide is very revealing. One of those involved in the accident was driving at a speed of up to 130 kilometers, the video of the vehicle camera was published, and he crashed into someone else’s car. So will he get nothing in return? How?
By the way, it’s interesting: why do we have high-speed highways in Europe and not us? They have invested so much money in the M11 that they charge travel fees and the speed limit is a maximum of 110 km even in summer but in general the limit is usually ninety. This is a traffic jam by European and American standards. It is a situation where the economy suffers due to cargo delays and increased fuel consumption.
For example, do you know what the restrictions are in Britain? 100-120 mph on the highway. If anyone has been in school for a long time, let me remind you: 1 mile is 1.6 km. 120 miles is 193 kilometers. And they move with a very fast flow. And they don’t fight. Because there is one thing: all highways are marked with lanes, the distance is two lanes, I don’t remember how many meters, but it is a lot, about 85 meters. Cameras monitor compliance with the distance, heavy fines, failure to comply with the two-lane rule is considered a very serious crime. They drive fast but there are very few accidents. The two-lane rule saved me once – when a deer jumped in front of the driver of the car in front. He braked suddenly, so did we, and hundreds more people followed us. The deer started running along the highway, jumped onto the opposite road, there were hundreds of other cars there, but not a single collision! Everyone left unharmed and the deer also left on his own. At this speed on the M11, everyone is in St. Petersburg at the same time. Arrives in St. Petersburg, imagine 190 km/h.
There is also a short conversation with those in a hurry: They are being fined for unfairly moving into the left lane. True, in their case the traffic is on the left, which is the right thing to do. No one understands why you jumped into the right lane: did you change lanes and drive at the same speed? Good morning my baby! Moreover, the penalties there are also high.
Why do they go 130km on the M11 with a 70 limit? But since the fine is 500 rubles, if paid early – 250. The person has already paid almost 600 rubles for travel on the road – he does not care about these 250. Yes, to be honest, I have never heard of anyone who owns an M11 being punished.
By the way, I never received this right. Sometimes I prepare to go on trips, but after going abroad I am afraid to drive in Russia. Our drivers are very bad.
Hustler and checkers players alone are worth it. At one point, the checkers players were going to be fined, but it seems like that’s all over. There is zero driving culture, we are suffering losses because of this. On the same M11, the British would set the minimum speed in kilometers at 150. True, they were going to build a shoulder, but here I repeat, they trapped the drivers by installing bumpers instead of the roadside. And they set a 90 km cruise limit. What is the purpose of such a route? But there is no other way, there is no driving culture and at a speed limit of at least 130 km, everyone will suddenly knock each other over because of the checkers.
St. The Western High Speed Diameter in St. Petersburg is equally pointless. A toll road passing through the city for those who do not want to travel by car. And the average limit is 90-100 km. They were keeping their distance, taking their time, putting on all the tires throughout the season and driving faster. We drive slowly – it takes a long time to transport the load, the economy suffers. After all, it’s all the fault of the so-called grandfather, who, at the age of 70, on bald wheels, was running along an icy highway in a blizzard, and from all sides he was overtaken, honked and encouraged. Everyone is tense, angry, pacing back and forth, and sure they’re not chicken-brained.
The author expresses his personal opinion, which may not coincide with the position of the editors.