Region

On September 27, the Unified Road Safety Day will be held in the Polotsk region under the motto "Do not be invisible - light up in the dark!"

On September 27, the Regional State Automobile Inspectorate of the Polotsk District Department of Internal Affairs will hold a Single Road Safety Day under the motto "Do not be invisible - light up in the dark!". This event is aimed at preventing road accidents with a vulnerable category of road users, promoting the use of reflective elements and high-visibility vests by pedestrians, cyclists, and carters.

The highest level of pedestrian injuries is observed in the autumn-winter period, and the share of accidents involving pedestrians reaches 60-70% of all accidents. This situation is due to the fact that there are short daylight hours at this time of year. When driving in the dark on unlit roads, the driver sees only the part of the road that is illuminated by the headlights of the car. At the same time, the perception of light contrasts by the eye becomes worse than in daylight, and it is more difficult to notice pedestrians, cyclists, persons driving personal mobility vehicles, as well as horse-drawn vehicles. Already in the early twilight, objects clearly visible during the day fade, and after sunset they become barely distinguishable. And in adverse weather conditions, the inexpressive figure of a person completely merges with the darkness, and becomes almost invisible to the driver.

The situation is further complicated by the fact that pedestrians, as a rule, think that the one behind the wheel has already noticed them. An investigative experiment conducted by the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate made it possible to establish that in the dark, a person in dark clothes with low beam headlights is distinguishable only at a distance of 25-30 m. At a speed of 60 km/h, the car travels about 17 meters in one second. During this time, the driver will only have time to figure out what or who is in front of him. It is not always possible to brake or maneuver successfully, including due to speed, the condition of the road surface, and the presence of other obstacles. Therefore, there is an essential need to make pedestrians, cyclists, horse-drawn carts, strollers, etc., as visible as possible, in order to increase the distance from the moment of detection. For these purposes, special reflective accessories (badges, pendants, ribbons) are widely used.

Traffic rules oblige a pedestrian to mark himself with a reflective element (elements) when driving along the edge of the carriageway at night (paragraph 17.1 of the Traffic Rules).

A reflective element on clothing is a real way to protect yourself from injury on an unlit road. The traffic police recommends that pedestrians mark themselves with a reflective element on their left and right hands, hang one flicker on the belt and behind. White or lemon flickers have the most optimal light reflectivity.

The category of cyclists is also included in the risk group if they are not marked with reflective elements.

We remind you that cyclists need to equip their bicycles with headlights (lanterns) emitting white light in the front, red light in the rear, and remember that a cyclist can move on the roadway no further than 1 meter from its right edge. At the same time, outside built-up areas, a cyclist must be dressed in high-visibility clothing with reflective elements (except for movement on a bicycle path).

There is another category of road users at risk of collision, although not as numerous as pedestrians. These are horse-drawn carts. Moving in the dark without lighting devices and not marked with catafots, carts, very often under the control of drunk drivers, become the objects of collisions with passing vehicles or accidents at the intersection of roads.

Children are the most unpredictable road users, often they try to run across the road. They are not aware of the danger, carelessly running out onto the roadway, sometimes deliberately running across the road in front of an approaching car.

The State Traffic Inspectorate of the Polotsk District draws the attention of parents and reminds them that they are primarily responsible for their children! It is necessary to educate children from a very early age in the skill of strict compliance with traffic rules, to explain to children the consequences of non-compliance with traffic rules.

Dear adults! Remind children of the basic rules of behavior on the road! Be sure to mark the school bag, the child's clothes with reflective elements! And here, it is very important to remind not only young road users, but also adults that the road to school and back home must be safe, and safety, first of all, depends on self-discipline, knowledge and strict compliance with traffic rules.

According to Article 18.20 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Republic of Belarus, violation of traffic rules by a pedestrian, a person driving a bicycle, a horse-drawn vehicle, or a person participating in road traffic and not driving a vehicle entails the imposition of a fine in the amount of one to three basic units. Penalties in the amount of 3 to 5 basic units are applied if this category of road users is intoxicated on the street and road network. If their violation of traffic rules led to the creation of an accident, then the amount of the fine is from 3 to 8 basic units. If the violation of the traffic rules resulted in the infliction of light bodily injury to the victim, or damage to a vehicle, cargo, road surface, road and other structures or other property, the perpetrator is subject to a fine of 5 to 20 basic units.

Drivers and pedestrians should always remember about strict compliance with the rules and mutual politeness on the road - after all, together this is a guarantee of safety and proper order in the field of traffic.

Regional State Automobile Inspectorate of the Polotsk District Department of Internal Affairs.