Bad Roads Are an Obstacle to Russia’s Development

New York     By Dr. César Chelala

In the early 17th century some Polish detachments were roaming Russia looking for Tsar Mikhail Romanov. In the woods near the village of Domnino they met a young logger, Ivan Susanin, who promised to take them to the Hypatian Monastery, where they suspected he was hidden. Instead, Susanin misled them and the Polish soldiers were forever lost in the forest. Some foreigners visiting Russia fear that Susanin may still be alive, leading them into intractable Russian provincial roads.

A country’s adequate road network is one of the necessary factors in its economic development. In the case of Russia, gains in some economic areas run the risk of not being sustained unless the government pays special attention to building an efficient and safe road network. In 2000, Russia had 754,000 kilometers of paved road, a figure that increased only marginally by 2008, and at a cost much higher than in the West.

The bad state of most Russian roads is responsible in part for the large number of accidents which, relative to the number of cars on them, makes Russia’s the world’s deadliest roads. Each day, there are 570 accidents on the country’s highways which lead to almost 35,000 deaths per year.

It is estimated that 80 percent of traffic lights on the country’s roads have already been used for a period exceeding their service life, while only 85 percent of the highway network is equipped with road signs. There is general agreement that the condition of the roads don’t correspond to the increase in the number of vehicles throughout the country.

In the last 10 years, road accidents have left almost two million wounded people. Russia’s increasing number of deaths on the roads parallel a demographic crisis that is alarming high officials in the country, a situation the government had promised to address. It is estimated that more than 50 percent of all road traffic deaths are among people aged 15-44, the group most productive economically. In addition, road traffic victims are more likely to need hospitalization than victims of other kinds of trauma.

A historical example on the importance of a good road network may be useful. After the end of WWII, General Mac Arthur and his staff helped a devastated Japan rebuild itself. He requested the collaboration of leading Japanese scientists and technicians to conduct a plan for national reconstruction. The Japanese asked for two things: help in building schools and in re-establishing the communications network by building roads, highways and airports. Today Japan is one of the world’s leading economic powers.

Public policies are critical for lowering the number and negative impact of traffic accidents. The United Kingdom, Sweden, and the Netherlands were able to obtain dramatic reductions in road-casualty levels following wide-ranging approaches to road safety. The World Economic Forum ‘s Global Competitiveness Report stated that Russia ranks number 125 out of 139 countries on the quality of its highway infrastructure.

“The national economy lost US $175 billion from traffic accidents over the past five years. That is comparable with overall health care expenditures of the same period,” stated Dmitry Medvedev, President of the Russian Federation in 2009.

Russian authorities should strengthen prevention efforts—the best way to avoid road accidents—through massive and sustained education campaigns in schools and through mass media, and should also enforce stringent penalties for those not using safety belts. At the same time, health authorities should plan more immediate and efficient attention to those hurt in traffic accidents, increasing the number of ambulances and providing them with basic equipment to save a person’s life.

Victor Kiryanov, President of the Russian Automobile Federation and member to UN Advisory Group on Sustainable Transport stated at the UN Sixty-second General Assembly that traffic accidents not only create socio-economic expenses for victims and their families, but place an onerous burden on public health services. He stressed that it is vitally important to reduce the number of traffic accidents in order to lower fatalities and achieve sustained socio-economic development. This is an important statement that should be followed by appropriate and effective actions.

Dr. César Chelala is the foreign correspondent for The Middle East Times International (Australia).