‘January-February challenged us’: acting head of Ministry of Internal Affairs of Tatarstan reports an increase in the number of deaths in road accidents

Photo: realnoevremya.ru/Maxim Platonov

Major General Alexey Sokolov addressed the State Council of the Republic of Tatarstan on 15 February. The acting head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the republic reported on the main results of the year and answered a number of questions from deputies.

The first of them was Nikolai Rybushkin, who asked whether Tatarstan would be able to ensure the implementation of the national project on safe and high-quality roads this year, if serious problems with transport have been observed since the beginning of the year and accidents are reported every day.

“Indeed, January-February challenged us, the number of deadly tragedies has increased," Sokolov admitted. “In January we lost 25 people, in February — already 15.” He noted that 60% of deaths are due to entering an oncoming lane of a car, 20% of the total statistics are pedestrians who died. “Many tragedies, as you know, were associated with the deterioration of weather conditions and heavy snowfalls," the acting minister added.

On the same date in 2023, there were by 15 fewer deaths. But this year, there has been a decrease in the total number of accidents and injuries, Sokolov stated. He also assured that the Ministry of Internal Affairs strengthened control over road users in Tatarstan and ensured the duty of the maximum possible number of traffic police crews. High-accident routes are regularly inspected to ensure that all necessary measures have been taken by the balance holders of these roads.