On April 15, three teenagers, 14 and 12 years old, who were calmly going to school along the highway in Gallaarol district, were hit by a high-speed “Lacetti”. The children died on the spot.
On June 4, on the 35th kilometer of the Samarkand-Guzor highway passing through “Mehnatkash” mahalla, Nurabad district, a 25-year-old driver in a KamAZ truck hit a young mother and her two children who were walking on the sidewalk. The babies were crushed under the wheels and died.
On July 1, 2 BYD crossovers were racing each other in Khatirchi district, moving at a speed of 142 km/h in a residential area, and ran over an 8-year-old girl on the sidewalk. The girl died.
On July 3, a Nexia 2 car hit a 7-year-old boy crossing the road in Samarkand district and blew him away.
There is no grief in this world more complex than the unexpected loss of a healthy child who wakes up in the morning, drinks tea, laughs, and flies in the world of sweet dreams. How do mothers forgive themselves? Won’t the fathers be burnt to ashes?
Some so many children are crying and waiting for their dearest person to come through the door without losing hope in their little hearts because they did not show the body of their father, who left the threshold in the morning and left in his car.
Pay attention to the numbers. In 2023, more than 16 million traffic violations were recorded in our country. As a result of 9,839 accidents, 9,209 citizens were injured, and 2,282 people died. 1,568 boys and girls were wounded, and 263 children lost their lives due to 1,794 accidents related to children.
In five months of this year, 359 traffic accidents involving minors took place, and 65 children died, 294 children received various injuries. Among them are those who use wheelchairs.
While the total number of road traffic accidents recorded in the country in five months was 7.2 per 100,000 population, this negative indicator was 12.8 in Tashkent city, 12.2 in Tashkent region, 9.1 in Namangan region, and reached 8.4 in Fergana region.
The number of fatal traffic accidents remains high in Samarkand (80), Tashkent (80), Fergana (69), Kashkadarya, and Surkhandarya (53) regions.
One of the 5 leading causes of death
According to the report of the World Health Organization, more than 2 people per minute and more than 3,200 people per day die due to traffic accidents. In total, 1.19 million people die in car accidents every year. Analysis shows that traffic accidents remain the leading cause of death for children and young people aged 5 to 29 years worldwide (In Uzbekistan, traffic accidents are one of the 5 main causes of death).
The analysis shows that 9 out of 10 road traffic deaths worldwide occur in low- and middle-income countries. “Although low-income countries have only one percent of the world’s cars, they are three times more likely to die from an accident than high-income countries”, the report said.
WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, assessed the situation, “Many deaths on our roads are preventable. We call on all countries to put people, not cars, at the center of their transport systems to ensure the safety of vulnerable road users such as children, pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists, and the disabled”. He drew the attention of the world public to this problem.
Estimates show that the global car fleet will double by 2030. Many countries have severe gaps in road infrastructure safety. Only 51 UN member states, or one in four, have implemented laws regulating safety for all road users.
Safe roads are needed
In May this year, the UN announced the results of a study on road safety in Uzbekistan. According to the study, the economic costs related to traffic accidents make up 2.8% of the country’s gross domestic product every year. This is a severe problem for the country’s development and health.
It is mentioned that the accident remains one of the main causes of death in the country, which shows the need to improve the national road safety system. Consequently, approximately 50% of deaths and injuries correspond to pedestrians. 30% of road deaths are caused by speeding drivers.
Punishment
As of January 1, 2024, 3.8 million passenger cars were owned by individuals in Uzbekistan.
That is, there were 103 cars per thousand people.
Currently, in many developed countries, there is a tendency to reduce highways due to the establishment of pedestrian zones, parks, and other public places. In our country, especially in urban areas, pedestrians cannot walk freely on the streets.
Today, we cannot say precisely when and from which source the word “autoterrorist” entered our vocabulary. Still, the accidents and terrible tragedies that happen on our roads every day, according to some activists in our society, indicate that the crimes against humanity are no less than the suicides of drivers who ignore the rules of the road and make life miserable.
Our legislation defines punishment measures for such violations. We increasingly feel the need to implement more severe punishments for drivers who recklessly and regularly violate traffic rules and to revise the punishments for deprivation of certain rights in cases that lead to death.
PDPU activists have a proposal
Abror QURBONOV, Head of the Central Council of the People’s Democratic Party of Uzbekistan:
– When our loved ones and children leave home, we worry so they come safely. This is a terrible signal. It is a severe problem that has a negative impact on the stability of society and the public.
According to our legislation, hitting a person with a vehicle causes liability under Article 266 of the Criminal Code. This same article applies to crimes committed due to carelessness.
In the pre-election program of the People’s Democratic Party, which is a supporter of social stability in the life of the state and society, it is time to discuss the issue of equating the cases of violating traffic rules and causing the death of one or more people to intentional murder and to raise the issue of tightening the punishment measures.
Every driver should be afraid to speed up and break the rules of the road when approaching the sidewalk. Excessive speeding in a densely populated area, where pedestrians are actively moving, is equivalent to taking a person’s life, especially children.
Saidkamol TURSUNOV, Activist of the People’s Democratic Party of Uzbekistan:
– The last terrible events related to the death of children on our roads showed how important it is to regulate pedestrian crossings, at least to install push-button traffic lights.
When the causes of the accident in Khatirchi were investigated, an interesting fact was encountered. At the pedestrian crossing where the 8-year-old girl died, the Khatirchi District Road Use State Institution did not install a push-button traffic light device. In the name of the Director of this institution, it is said that the Navoi region RSTD has proposed installing a traffic light with a button, not once but twice this year.
It is necessary to make it mandatory that at least half of the funds received from the fines be directed to regulating sidewalks. The traffic safety service has struggled to understand the needs of pedestrians. Perhaps this task should be taken over by another ministry that takes for granted that the organizer, whether in a car or on foot, has equal rights. Maybe it’s time to transfer responsibility and powers to the Ministry of Justice. Or, as in the United Kingdom, the Ministry of Transport undertakes this service. The industry needs an entirely new strategy.
Farida MAHKAMOVA,
«O‘zbekiston ovozi» sharhlovchisi.
Correspondent at “O‘zbekiston Ovozi”.
“O‘zbekiston Ovozi” (“Voice of Uzbekistan”), 10.07.2023, No.27