Visit to Moscow 13 May – 1 June 2002 Introduction On behalf of, and as commissioned by, the Moscow government, a start has been made on the Moscow Urban Transport Project. The main reasons for this project are to improve the traffic enforcement of the traffic police, to improve mobility, to improve the handling of road accidents and to introduce new policies to reduce congestion. One of the important themes of improving traffic enforcement is the training of traffic police in new technologies. Training in the use of new software applied in analysing traffic accidents is of great importance. The analysis of traffic accidents helps on a strategic level in making new policies. These new policies should lead to a better approach to traffic problems which in turn will lead to the improvement of traffic safety; therefore reducing the number of traffic victims – fatal and non-fatal. After being short-listed by a special Commission the undersigned has been selected by the World Bank of Moscow as Consultant on this project. As agreed in the project instructions, I first of all completed a tour to research the Traffic Police Forces of Moscow and the Traffic Police Training Institute. This tour was intended to assist in the organising of a good, well-tuned international Study Tour for a number of officials which would then help in making the right recommendations to the Moscow government. Before I report my findings, I would just like to mention that full cooperation was lent by all colleagues interviewed in the Traffic Police Force and the Training Institute; they were open, very professional and obviously motivated. All requested information was readily made available and this has given me a good insight into how the Study Tour should be realised. Finally This project proposal was composed and approved upon three years ago. In those three years the Russian democratic process has progressed. Legislation has changed and new laws have been introduced. However some traffic rules have disappeared which has caused huge traffic problems. For example: parking problems, the control of drivers under the influence of drink and drugs, the low fines, and the sometimes limited competence of detectives. In the spirit of this democratic process these developments are understandable and easy to defend but unfortunately sometimes they do not lead to the desired result. Some sections of the project proposal are therefore more difficult to carry out, or even impossible. Consequently, after consulting the responsible representatives of the Traffic Police Forces, the Training Institute and the World Bank, priorities will need to be set in the different sections of the project so that we can reach the best possible result. Peter ter Meulen Consultant General Information Moscow has 9 million inhabitants and has to deal daily with 3 million commuters and tourists. Five million driving licences have been issued and there are three million vehicles with an increase in number of around 10% annually. This increase of vehicles in Moscow is one of the reasons for the large amount of traffic problems. At this moment the amount of vehicles in Moscow is in fact equal to the amount predicted for 2020. Driving lessons and tests are by far not up to the required standards. The driving tests are given by police agents. The level of knowledge and skill of many driving licence owners is, to put it mildly, very low and limited. An important segment of the inhabitants still uses public transport. The metro network is 225 km long, is reliable and very punctual. The road network in Moscow totals around 4,000 kilometres. There is an inner ring around the centre and a second and third ring on the outside of the city. The third ring is almost completed and will relieve part of the city from congestion. Meanwhile there are already new plans to extend this third ring with a three kilometre tunnel which would run under an important historic section of the city centre. The outer ring of Moscow is around 120 kilometres long. The Traffic Police Force in Moscow has around 8,500 personnel; 4,000 of which is on the beat every day. The Police Force has 20 traffic departments which handle the daily stream of traffic, enforce the traffic laws and carry out the road accident paperwork. Each department has only one mini-bus to deal with the police work on the location of the collision. On average there are 18 of these mini-busses available. There are 45 traffic specialists who handle the complicated accidents involving injuries or fatalities. There are no vehicles with extra research materials and equipment for these specialists and there is only one camera available to record the scene of the collision. The vehicles which are used at the scene of the accident are equipped with:
Accidents In 2001 around 125,000
accidents (only material damage) took place. In around 60-70% of the accidents pedestrians are involved. Of this percentage 50% of the accidents are caused by pedestrians. Of the remaining approximate 30% of these accidents, roughly 30% are tail/bumper collisions, 22% one-sided, e.g. hitting a tree, and in 28% alcohol plays a role.
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