Casualties from Traffic Accidents in Armenia Primarily Result from Speeding: Discussion

The Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, Kristine Galstyan, and the Chief of the Road Police of the Republic of Armenia, Egor Karapetyan, held a working consultation during which issues related to improving road safety and preventing traffic accidents were discussed.

Participants included Stepan Machyan, the Director General of the Road Department, Horen Grigoryan, head of the Department of Road Asset Management, Goor Avetisyan, the advisor to the Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, and other representatives from the ministry and the Road Police.

Galstyan noted that, within the context of the road sector policy, priority is given to issues of road safety during the planning and implementation of all programs. The Deputy Minister emphasized that the policies concerning the road sector, as well as road construction projects, should be undertaken with the aim of reducing the number of traffic accidents.

She also informed that a number of legislative changes will soon be made to establish an institute for road safety audits, which will contribute to increasing the level of road traffic safety.

During the meeting, the results of research conducted by the Road Police were discussed, along with identified issues and measures taken, emphasizing the need for joint activities to prevent traffic accidents and agree upon strategies.

The representatives of the Road Police, presenting statistics regarding traffic accidents in recent years, revealed that casualties are primarily due to speeding. In this context, it was noted that steps should be taken to prevent exceeding the established speed limits.

The importance of ensuring access to statistical data on traffic accidents for specialists from the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure and the Road Department was highlighted, which will help to more quickly identify accident-prone areas and provide engineering solutions for their elimination. Additionally, appropriate recommendations should be made to design companies during the project design phase before the repair of roads.

The parties agreed that representatives from the Road Police and the Road Department will conduct regular joint tours to study road safety issues. Issues concerning the illumination of interstate roads, equipping roads with safety features, and numerous other topics were also discussed.