More deadly traffic accidents in Armenia

ArmInfo. The number of fatal  road accidents has increased in Armenia. This is evidenced by the  statistics of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Armenia for the  first half of 2024.

The department drew attention to the fact that more than 300 people  become victims of road accidents in Armenia every year, and more than  four thousand are injured.

"In the first half of 2024, 1946 accidents were registered, which is  slightly less than in the same period last year - 2090. However, the  number of people killed in road accidents this year was 147, which is  5 more than in the same period in 2023. The number of victims also  decreased from 2918 people last year to 2760 this year," the Ministry  of Internal Affairs of Armenia said, assuring that these are quite  optimistic figures, given the fact that the number of cars on the  country's roads has increased several times. "It is important to note  that in recent years, the number of vehicles in Armenia has almost  doubled and today amounts to 901,967 units. From 2019 to the  reporting period, 413,911 cars were imported into the republic," the  department said.

As an excuse for the high traffic accident statistics in the country,  the Ministry of Internal Affairs assured that it is necessary to  adapt to the new reality and understand what measures need to be  taken to reduce the number of accidents in the context of almost  double the number of cars on the country's roads.

At the same time, the department identified two groups of reasons  that provoke traffic accidents: poor road lighting, poor road  condition and lack of equipment, and the human factor.

At the same time, the Ministry notes that traffic management is a  serious problem, especially in large cities, and really requires a  scientific approach.

"In the first half of 2024, 983 traffic accidents with bodily  injuries were registered in Yerevan, resulting in 38 deaths and 1,150  injuries. During the same period last year, 973 similar traffic  accidents were registered - 38 deaths and 1,162 injuries. In other  words, the statistics have hardly changed. It should also be noted  that most deaths are the result of collisions," the Ministry of  Internal Affairs noted. At the same time, the department acknowledged  that one of the factors causing accidents on the country's roads is  the lack of proper road markings, poor or no lighting, and inadequate  provision of roads with road signs - issues that have not yet been  fully resolved.

The department also notes that the problem of the quality of road  markings is still relevant (by the way, this year, the Yerevan City  Hall updated the road markings in the capital only in July, and even  then not in full, and of such quality that after two weeks they  became invisible again - ed.).

The founder of the "Don't Do It" group on Facebook, Levon  Harutyunyan, also drew attention to the poor quality of the road  markings.

"The new markings are of very poor quality. Often, when the traffic  order changes in some areas, due to the poor quality of the new  paint, the new markings are erased, and the old ones are preserved,  thus misleading the driver. Therefore, it is very important to apply  markings with high-quality paint and completely clean off the old  markings," Harutyunyan noted.

Touching upon the topic of road accidents and sections where  accidents with serious consequences occurred, Deputy Chief of the  Patrol Service Arman Chilingaryan noted that factors that can be used  to prevent such accidents are being identified and appropriate  proposals are being developed, including taking into account the  opinion of patrol officers, which are submitted to the relevant road  management bodies.  The Ministry of Internal Affairs also added that  in the near future, a system will be launched in Armenia that will  record speeding along the entire route.

Further, touching upon the human factor in accidents, the Ministry of  Internal Affairs noted that, according to statistics, a huge part of  fatal accidents occurs due to the fact that a person drives a car  while intoxicated.

According to the director of the National Center for the Treatment of  Drug Addiction Suren Nazinyan, in 2023, the Center he heads assessed  the sobriety of 175 people, 134 of whom had an ethanol level  exceeding 0.2 grams per liter. In the first half of 2024, 134 people  were examined, of which 106 had the same number.

The department also touched upon the problem of driving a vehicle  without a license. The Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that  since 2020, the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate has made more than  23 thousand decisions to revoke driving licenses, but this has not  eliminated the problem. 

"There are also a small number of cases of driving a vehicle with a  suspended or revoked driver's license, for which criminal liability  is already provided," said Grigor Avetisyan, Deputy Head of the  Criminal Investigation Department of the State Department of Road  Police. "In the first half of 2024, only the Patrol Service, that is,  not counting the speedometers installed on the roads, recorded about  41,000 speeding violations against 4,000 for the same period last  year, that is, almost ten times more. About 10 thousand cases of  drunk driving were recorded against 7,500 last year, or about 25  percent more, and about 86 thousand cases of unbuckled driving  against 25 thousand last year, or almost three times more. In  addition, about 14,000 offenses were recorded for using a phone while  driving and another 12,000 for using tobacco products while driving.  About 17 thousand cases of traffic violations by pedestrians were  recorded compared to 10 thousand last year," the Armenian Ministry of  Internal Affairs summed up, noting that in order to change the  disappointing picture of road accidents in the country, it is  necessary to change the legal consciousness of the people.