President Shavkat Mirziyoyev today chaired a government meeting dedicated to road safety based on the Safe and Smooth Road principle.

According to the spokesman of the head of state, at the meeting the president accused the officials of the fact that, despite the appalling statistics of traffic accidents, they continue to be silent.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev noted that over 10,000 road accidents were registered in 2021 in Uzbekistan, in which more than 9,000 people were injured and about 2,500 people, including 263 children, died. He called it "a great tragedy".

Most of the accidents associated with deaths occurred in the Tashkent province (21 per 100 thousand of the population), Jizzakh - 16, Syrdarya - 15, Navoi and Samarkand - 14 each, Kashkadarya and Namangan - 13.

Dozens of people die every year at the 88th kilometer of the 4P-112 highway (Pap-Turakurgan), the 80th kilometer of the Jarkurgan-Denau section of the M-41 highway (Termez-Dushanbe), the 352nd kilometer of the A-373 highway in the Yazyavan district, 85th kilometer of the A-378 road (Samarkand-Guzar).

Last year, there were 43 fatal accidents in Chirakchi district, 42 in Namangan city, 34 in Yangiyul district, 28 in Urgut, and 20 in Andijan district.

“In these districts and cities, mayors, police chiefs and prosecutors have been relieved of their posts, a period of three months has been given. If they do not achieve changes within this period, they will be held accountable,” the president said.

According to statistics announced by the President, more than 2,000 busy intersections and 9,500 pedestrian crossings are not equipped with traffic lights and other means. About 15 thousand km of pedestrian and bicycle paths are not enough for cities.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev also pointed to the need to develop new Traffic Rules, with the current ones significantly outdated, based on international standards.

“All changes to the legislation will be developed in discussion with deputies, experts and the public,” he said.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev cited statistics on traffic violations and stressed that the inevitability of punishment must be ensured.

According to the announced data, 45% of accidents were committed due to non-compliance with traffic rules by drivers, 10% - inexperience of drivers, 25% - substandard road infrastructure and 20% - violations by pedestrians.

“All these problems are closely related to social, economic and security issues. Therefore, in 2022, we will implement the nationwide Safe Road and Safe Pedestrian program in all provinces,” the President said.

He underscored at the meeting that 2,200 km of highways of international importance in Karakalpakstan, Bukhara, Namangan, Navoi, Jizzakh, Kashkadarya, Samarkand and Surkhandarya provinces, where the largest number of accidents are observed, are not equipped with barriers separating opposite directions of traffic.

Half of the existing 400,000 road signs and road signs do not meet the requirements. Only Tashkent city itself 15,000 road signs lack, and 22,000 of them need to be updated, the president highlighted.

There is only one enterprise for the production of road signs and indicators in the country (the state unitary enterprise Uzavtoyulbelgi), whose capacity does not cover even 20% of the demand, the head of state further said.

According to him, points are planned to be given for each violation of traffic rules. In particular, if a driver exceeds the speed limit, he will receive 1 point, if he runs through a red light - 3 points.

During the year, if 12 points are exceeded, the driver's license will be revoked.

“Digitalization is the best solution for traffic management. Unfortunately, there is not a single exemplary example of digitalization either in the capital or in provinces. They simply cannot handle it,” the head of state said.

Only 111 out of 602 intersections in Tashkent have digital control. In other cities, there is no such system at all, the president said.

In Tashkent, the issues of introducing digital management and ensuring road safety will be transferred to the jurisdiction of Tashkent mayor’s office. By the end of the year, 300 intersections in the capital have been digitized, and the remaining 302 - next year.

The speed limit on the central streets of Tashkent and large cities should be set on the basis of a scientific approach, the head of state said.

At the same time, in front of schools and kindergartens, the speed of transport should not exceed 30 km/h. On certain streets with heavy traffic, the speed should be reduced from the current 70 km/h to 60 km/h, the president said.

Note that the recommended and used worldwide standard for streets is not 60, but 50 km/h. In some capitals, the speed limit has been reduced even further.

The current traffic rules limit the speed in residential areas and adjacent territories to 30 km/h, however, due to the lack of signs, means of calming traffic and control, this requirement is violated everywhere.

The President said that the installation of traffic lights and other measures to improve safety help prevent accidents. He gave an example: there were 4 accidents on Yunus-ota Street in the Yunusabad district of the capital in 2020, but after the installation of a single traffic light in 2021, there were no accidents.