Baku traffic expected to improve till 2015
By Nigar Orujova
A plan of measures on resolving the traffic problem in the Azerbaijani capital Baku in 2013-2015 has been discussed at the Transport Ministry, the ministry's website said last week.
The plan includes elimination of land-based crosswalks on the multilane roads and construction of overland and underground crosswalks to step up safety and increase traffic intensity. Hotline creation for timely reporting of road traffic accidents as well as prevention of unauthorized road blocking was also reflected in the Plan.
The Plan also envisions special measures on improving the parking situation, including creation of a parking control service in Baku. Public transport and road construction and reconstruction work are also included in the Plan.
Depressing statistics
The situation on the roads in Baku cannot be deemed satisfactory, which is testified by traffic jams and a rise in fatal road accidents.
Most of the road accidents recorded in 2012 occurred in Baku. Thus, 1,068 road accidents in Baku killed 336 people and injured 1,126, according to the Main State Traffic Police Department.
Overall, 2,892 traffic accidents registered in Azerbaijan in 2012 left 1,168 people dead and 2,997 injured. While the number of road accidents was essentially the same in 2011, there were more fatal cases last year: 2,890 road accidents killed 1,016 people and injured 3,031.
Analysis of road accidents shows that 1,065 of the road accidents in Azerbaijan in 2012 were connected with running into pedestrians. 79 children were killed and 235 were injured in 2012.
The numbers of road accidents and injured people are falling. According to Kamran Aliyev, an official of the Main State Traffic Police Department, some 3,045 road accidents were registered in Azerbaijan in 1993, when the country had only 358,000 cars. Nowadays, when the number of cars exceeds one million, the road accidents' number evidently fell. However, the increasing number of deaths on the road raises concerns.
There are more reasons for the rising number of road accidents, and the increasing number of cars is one of the obvious ones.
Car boom
The number of vehicles increases by 75,000-85,000 a year in Azerbaijan, according to Aliyev.
According to Vugar Bayramov, head of the Economic and Social Development Center, in Azerbaijan, which has population of over nine million people, one car accounts for nine people, which is a very low indicator even in comparison with developing countries, where there is one car per two people.
About 70 percent of the country's cars are used in the capital Baku, which significantly complicates traffic in the busy city.
The main reason of road accidents in the country is violation of safety requirements. According to Aliyev, most of fatal cases are linked to driving obsolete cars, which are unable to stand a blow in traffic accidents.
There is still no state decision on banning such cars and people are free to decide themselves whether or not it is safe to drive a 20-year-old car.
According to the Main State Traffic Police Department, the most frequent reason for car accidents in Baku in 2012 was speed limit violations, violations of the rules of passing and failure to observe rules of crossing intersections.
835 drivers were deprived of driver's licenses in Azerbaijan in 2012 for various reasons including driving under the influence of alcohol, causing emergencies and auto hooliganism.
A number of steps should be taken to reduce the gloomy statistics. According to Kamran Aliyev, the Main State Traffic Police Department is preparing short movies to be presented on public television in Azerbaijan as part of the effort to prevent road accidents.
Aliyev also noted that use of public service advertising will be increased.