The Ministry of Economic Development has elaborated the federal targeted programme on enhancing traffic safety in 2013-2020 following the decision of the Presidium of the Presidential Council for Priority National Projects and Demographic Policy and in line with the action plan on implementing the concept of national demographic policy up to 2025 in 2011-2015, which was approved by Government Resolution No 367 of March 10, 2011.
The concept of the programme was endorsed by Government Resolution No 1995-r of October 27, 2012.
Traffic safety is one of the major socio-economic and demographic national tasks. Traffic accidents inflict material and moral damage on society and individuals. Road injuries exclude the able-bodied population from production.
As a result of implementing the federal targeted programme on enhancing traffic safety in 2006-2012, endorsed by Government Resolution No 100 of February 20, 2006, the number of people killed in traffic accidents dropped from 34,506 in 2004 to 27,953 in 2011.
However, the absolute figures for road accidents remain high compared to advanced countries.
Traffic accidents kill and injure more than 270,000 people in Russia every year. In the past seven years, 7,900 children were killed and more than 166,000 were wounded on the roads.
This problem can be resolved only through a targeted programme. Its implementation will make it possible to:
- establish uniform goals and tasks to enhance traffic safety in the period up to 2020;
- elaborate a system of priority measures to increase traffic safety by consistently reducing the causes of accidents;
- enhance the effectiveness of management on ensuring traffic safety at the federal, regional and local levels and facilitate coordination between government bodies;
- focus the resources of the state on implementing measures to reach the priority goals and tasks in ensuring traffic safety;
- apply the principles of effective budget planning.
The price tag of the programme amounts to more than 32 billion roubles, including 17.19 billion from the federal budget, 14.16 billion from regional budgets and 1.06 billion from extra-budgetary sources.
To decrease and prevent the number of fatal traffic accidents, the programme is based on the targets established by the President’s Directive No 598 of May 7, 2012 on improving national healthcare policy, notably, on reducing the number of fatal traffic accidents to 10.6 cases per 100,000 people by 2018.
The Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Emergencies, the Ministry of Healthcare, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Education and Science, the Ministry of Trade and Industry and Rosavtodor (Federal Road Agency) are responsible for planning and carrying out the afore-mentioned measures and the effective use of the budget funds.
These federal executive bodies are acting as Government contractors on implementing the major directions of the programme within their competence. Control over the programme’s fulfilment will be exercised by the Ministry of the Interior acting as its coordinator.
The programme’s adoption will make it possible to retain the experience accumulated in ensuring traffic safety, reduce the number of fatal road accidents and create prerequisites for decreasing road injuries in the next decade.
The Government reviewed the draft programme at its session on September 23, 2013 and endorsed it with due account of the discussion
