ROAD SAFETY DAY TO BE HELD IN LEPEL DISTRICT

On October 25, a Unified Road Safety Day "Stop Car, Slow Down! Pedestrian on the Road!" will be held across the republic, aimed at preventing traffic accidents at pedestrian crossings.

During the event, traffic police officers, jointly with other public security police services, will be monitoring areas with high pedestrian traffic – these include public transport stops, unregulated pedestrian crossings, shops, educational institutions, etc. Additionally, law enforcement officers will conduct awareness talks for both adult and child audiences, focusing on the new traffic regulations that come into effect on October 27, 2024.

Road patrols will pay special attention to identifying and preventing violations by both pedestrians and drivers who fail to comply with the rules for passing pedestrian crossings, as well as ensuring pedestrians have retro-reflective elements when travelling in the dark. After all, collisions with pedestrians remain the predominant type of road traffic accident.

The main causes of traffic accidents involving this category of road users are:

— crossing the roadway outside of designated areas, and the absence of retro-reflective elements when travelling in the dark;

— driver indiscipline and failure to comply with regulations regarding passing unregulated pedestrian crossings and yielding to pedestrians.

Intoxicated pedestrians pose a particular danger on or near the roadway. They behave carelessly, and sometimes aggressively. The actions of an intoxicated person are unpredictable, as their behaviour directly threatens road safety. Therefore, dear citizens, if you observe intoxicated road users on the roadway, please report it to the duty officer by calling 102.

Pedestrian crossings are unsafe places, especially unregulated ones. The danger can be exacerbated by limited visibility, pedestrian congestion, and so on. When approaching a pedestrian crossing, drivers must reduce their speed to a minimum and give way to pedestrians.

Collisions with pedestrians at unregulated crossings remain a problem. Despite the obvious fault of drivers who violate the rules for passing unregulated pedestrian crossings, a lack of personal discipline on the part of pedestrians is sometimes also observed.

Dear pedestrians, before stepping onto the roadway, you must look around and ensure there are no vehicles, or if there are vehicles, establish visual contact with the driver to confirm they are yielding to you. For your safety, it is also important to avoid talking on your mobile phone and using headphones. A pedestrian crossing is a zone of increased attention!

It is important to remember the strict observance of the Rules and mutual courtesy on the road.