Types of road accidents

Classification, types and differences of road traffic accidents (RTA)

Incidents and accidents, unfortunately, happen very often these days. This happens due to the large number of cars, inexperience of drivers, external reasons and other factors. Therefore, today we will talk about the concept, analysis, classification, main and other types of road accidents, their characteristics, causes, consequences and types of liability.

Traditional division of road accidents by type

So, how many types of accidents are divided into and how are they classified? The following types of road accidents are distinguished.

3 main factors of road accidents

Collision

This type of accident, collision, is one of the most common cases of accidents. In such an accident, a mechanical vehicle collides with another vehicle, an animal or a railway vehicle.

Collisions between two MTS occur as follows.

• The most dangerous of them are frontal ones. Most often they happen due to driving into the oncoming lane.
• A rear-end collision can involve multiple vehicles. The most common reason is failure to maintain distance.
• Side collisions are considered less dangerous, but they are very common. Usually happen at intersections due to failure to provide the required right of way in traffic.
• Tangent collisions occur due to inattention when changing lanes. Of all types, these accidents are the least dangerous.

• In most collisions with railroad vehicles, the car driver is at fault. Such accidents are almost always fatal, because the driver does not have the opportunity to stop the train.
• Collisions with animals most often occur outside the city at night. In these accidents, the car can receive severe damage, sometimes irreparable.

A specialist will tell you more about classic types of accidents in this video:

Depending on the object, there are the following types.

• On a pedestrian. A moving vehicle hits a person on the roadway or sidewalk.
• To the obstacle. In this case, a collision occurs with a stationary object.
• For a cyclist.
• Currently MTS.
• For horse-drawn transport. The car ran over a draft animal or its cart.

Now let's talk about rollovers as a type of accident.

Rollover

It happens more often on country roads where high speeds are allowed. These accidents are unpredictable. Passengers, especially those who are not wearing seatbelts, can suffer severe injuries, even death, as a result of being hit by a car.

In addition, the car may catch fire. The damage from such accidents is significant, often the car can no longer be restored.

A specialist will talk about the reasons for the formation of different types of accidents in the video below:

Falling from overpasses and bridges occurs as a result of force majeure, and as a result of the driver losing control. As a rule, a driver commits an accident while intoxicated (under the influence of alcohol or drugs). In such accidents, even when falling from low heights, people rarely survive. These accidents are characterized by severe consequences, because random people who were at the scene of the fall may also die.

Falling loads can cause serious accidents. Loads that are poorly secured pose a risk to road safety. The suddenness of the situation is especially insidious. The load falls from the car in front, and the driver of the car behind simply does not have time to react.

Read below about the types of injuries and damage to a car in an accident and the detailed classification. We talked about the types of topographic analysis of road accidents separately.

Statistics on different types of accidents

Classification by severity of consequences

There is a classification of road accidents according to the severity of the consequences.

1. Fatal.
2. With bodily harm. These may be minor injuries with short-term health problems and loss of ability to work. Moderate injuries do not pose a threat to life, but lead to long-term health problems. Severe consequences are significant and permanent loss of ability to work, they can be life-threatening.
3. Causing material damage. Material damage can be extensive. This applies in cases where the vehicle or cargo is destroyed or significantly damaged.

Even more useful information about the types of accidents and tips on how to avoid becoming involved in an accident are presented in this video:

Types of road accidents

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• Road traffic accident (RTA). Concept and types

Contents of the publication:

• Road accident. Definition of the concept
• Road accident registration by Rosstat
• Types of road traffic accidents (RTA) in ODM 218.6.015-2015
• Types of road traffic accidents (RTA) in the repealed 1998 Rules
• Another type of accident is a non-contact accident.
• Who is considered dead or injured in an accident? “Limited visibility” and “road conditions associated with accidents”

Road accident. Definition of the concept

Road traffic accident is an event that occurred during the movement of a vehicle on the road and with its participation, in which people were killed or injured, vehicles, structures, cargo were damaged, or other material damage was caused (Article 2 of the Federal Law of December 10, 1995 N 196 - Federal Law “On Road Safety”)

The identical definition of the concept of “road accident” is contained in clause 1.2 of the Road Traffic Rules of the Russian Federation, approved by Resolution of the Council of Ministers - Government of the Russian Federation of October 23, 1993 N 1090.

Road traffic accident; (RTA): An event that occurred during the movement of a vehicle on the road and with its participation, in which people were killed or injured, vehicles, structures, cargo were damaged, or other material damage was caused (clause 3.1.2 of the Recommendations for the recording and analysis of road accidents). -transport accidents on highways of the Russian Federation, approved by the order of Rosavtodor dated May 12, 2015 N 853-r).

A road traffic accident (RTA) is an event that occurred during the movement of a vehicle on the road and with its participation, in which people were killed or injured, vehicles, cargo, structures were damaged (lost since May 12, 2015 Rules for accounting and analysis of road traffic -transport accidents on highways of the Russian Federation, approved by the Federal Road Service of Russia on May 29, 1998).

Road accident registration by Rosstat

Rosstat Order No. 887 dated December 29, 2017 “On approval of methodological provisions for transport statistics” (this order was not officially published) contains the following provisions:

• Deceased - a person who died at the scene of a traffic accident or died within 30 days after the accident.
• Wounded - a person who received bodily injuries at the scene of a road traffic accident, which led to his hospitalization for a period of at least one day, or the need for outpatient treatment.

State statistical reporting on road traffic accidents includes information only on road traffic accidents in which people were killed or injured .

Road traffic accidents are taken into account according to the following main criteria:

• types (collision, rollover, collision with a standing vehicle, pedestrian, obstacle, cyclist, passenger fall);
• places of commission (in populated areas, on public roads, private roads, toll roads, non-public roads, at railway crossings and other places);
• reasons, the main of which are: violation of traffic rules (including by vehicle drivers), technical malfunction of vehicles and unsatisfactory conditions of maintenance and arrangement of the road network;
• categories of victims (drivers, cyclists, passengers, pedestrians);
• participants in incidents (including those involving pedestrians and children under 16 years of age);
• time of occurrence (days of the week, time of day).

Types of road traffic accidents (RTA)
in ODM 218.6.015-2015

In the Industry road methodological document ODM 218.6.015-2015, valid since May 12, 2015, “Recommendations for recording and analysis of road accidents on highways of the Russian Federation,” approved. By order of Rosavtodor dated May 12, 2015 N 853-r, only the following types of accidents are identified:

road traffic accident with victims: An event that occurred during the movement of a vehicle on the road and with its participation, in which at least one person was killed or injured (clause 3.1.3). In this case, injured in an accident is understood to be a person who received bodily injuries in an accident that resulted in his hospitalization for a period of at least one day or the need for outpatient treatment (clause 3.1.10). who died in an accident as a person who died at the scene of an accident or died from its consequences within the next 30 days.

road traffic accident with particularly grave consequences: A road traffic accident in which 5 or more people died, 10 people or more were injured. (clause 3.1.4).

The previous Rules for accounting and analysis of road accidents on highways of the Russian Federation, approved by the Federal Road Service of Russia on May 29, 1998, contained a more detailed description of a road accident, which differed more favorably from the current Recommendations approved by Rosavtodor on May 12, 2015.

Types of road traffic accidents (RTA)
in the repealed 1998 Rules

In the Rules for recording and analysis of traffic accidents on highways of the Russian Federation, in force until May 12, 2015, approved. By Order of the Federal Road Service of Russia dated May 29, 1998 N 168, road traffic accidents were divided into the following types:

Collision is an incident in which moving vehicles collide with each other or with railway rolling stock.

This type also includes collisions with a suddenly stopped vehicle (in front of a traffic light, during a traffic jam or due to a technical malfunction) and collisions of railway rolling stock with a vehicle stopped (left) on the tracks.

Rollover is an incident in which moving vehicle overturned (for example, the court came to the conclusion that the overturning of a truck crane on the territory of a joint stock company cannot be regarded as a traffic accident, since it did not occur while the vehicle was moving along the road, as provided for clause 1.1 of the Traffic Rules; resolution of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the West Siberian District dated October 28, 2008 N F04-6437/2008 (14507-A70-11) in case N A70-470/11-2008).

Collision with a stationary vehicle is an incident in which a moving vehicle collides with a stationary vehicle or a trailer or semi-trailer.

Hitting an obstacle is an incident in which a vehicle runs over or hits a stationary object (bridge support, pole, tree, fence, etc.).

A pedestrian collision is an incident in which a vehicle hits a person or the person collides with a moving vehicle.

This type also includes incidents in which pedestrians were injured by a load or object transported by a vehicle (boards, containers, cable, etc.).

A collision with a cyclist is an incident in which a vehicle hits a cyclist or the cyclist collides with a moving vehicle.

A horse-drawn vehicle collision is an incident in which a vehicle hits draft animals, as well as the carts transported by these animals, or the draft animals or carts transported by these animals hit a moving vehicle. This type also includes hitting an animal.

Passenger fall is an incident in which a passenger falls from a moving vehicle or in the cabin (body) of a moving vehicle as a result of a sudden change in speed or trajectory, etc., if it cannot be attributed to another type of accident.

A passenger falling from a stationary vehicle while boarding (disembarking) at a bus stop is not an accident.

Another type of accident is an incident not related to the types indicated above. This includes the fall of a transported load or an object thrown by a wheel onto a person, animal or other vehicle, a collision with persons who are not road users, a collision with a suddenly appeared obstacle (a fallen load, a separated wheel, etc.), etc.

Another type of accident is a non-contact accident.

The last paragraph of paragraph 3 of Appendix 3 to the specified rules for recording and analyzing traffic accidents on highways..., apparently, also included “ another type of accident ”. We are talking, in particular, about so-called non-contact accidents.

In a non-contact accident due to the fault of the driver of the vehicle (who violated the traffic rules), harm is caused to third parties, while there is no physical contact between the vehicle of the harm-doer and the vehicle of the injured person (as well as any other object to which the harm was caused). For more information on the topic of non-contact road accidents, see the article “Non-contact road accidents. Arbitrage practice"

Falling objects on a car, snow from roofs - an accident?

To classify an event as an accident, it matters whether the “injured” car was moving at the time the damage was caused or was parked, because from the definition of the concept of an accident it follows that a road accident is an event that arose primarily while the vehicle was moving along the road.

For example, the court indicated that “from the plaintiff’s statement of claim it is clear that at the time the damage was caused, the car was parked next to the building; the basis for the claim was damage to the car as a result of falling snow, and not a traffic accident ” (resolution of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Central District dated 04.02 .2014 in case No. A09-1079/2013)

Stopping a vehicle - process of movement - accident?

The answer to this question determines whether the incident that occurred when stopping the car is considered an accident or not. Accordingly, whether the event is considered an insured event or not.

According to paragraph 1.2 of the Traffic Rules, a “road accident” is an event that occurred during the movement of a vehicle on the road and with its participation, in which people were killed or injured, vehicles, structures, cargo were damaged, or other material damage was caused.

At the same time, road traffic is a set of social relations that arise in the process of moving people and goods with the help of vehicles or without them within the boundaries of roads. Intentionally stopping the movement of a vehicle for up to 5 minutes, as well as for longer if it is necessary to board or disembark passengers or load or unload a vehicle, is a stop.

According to paragraph 1.1 of the Traffic Rules, these Traffic Rules establish a uniform traffic procedure throughout the Russian Federation.

Consequently, paragraphs 1.1 and 1.2 of the Traffic Rules, in their interrelation, relate stopping a vehicle to the process of road traffic.

According to Article 2 of the Federal Law of December 10, 1995 N 196-FZ “On Road Traffic Safety,” the term “ road ” means a strip of land or a surface of an artificial structure that is equipped or adapted and used for the movement of vehicles. The road includes one or more carriageways, as well as tram tracks, sidewalks, shoulders and dividing strips, if any. A similar concept of a road is contained in paragraph 1.2 of the Traffic Rules.

For example, guided by the above rules of law, the Third Arbitration Court of Appeal, in its ruling dated December 09, 2013 in case No. A33-11923/2013, indicated that “since the controversial event occurred at the unloading site of the company..., specially designed for the passage of cars through it for their unloading , that is, being a road, and stopping a vehicle to unload it is part of the road traffic , then the overturning of the vehicle belonging to the plaintiff occurred as a result of a road traffic accident - an insured event provided for in a voluntary insurance agreement.”

Who is considered dead or injured in an accident? “Limited visibility” and “road conditions associated with accidents”

In the now no longer in force Rules for recording and analysis of traffic accidents on highways of the Russian Federation, approved. FDS RF 05/29/1998 N 168 contained definitions of the following terms:

"4. A person who died at the scene of a traffic accident or died from its consequences within the next seven days is considered dead

5. A wounded person is considered to be a person who received bodily injuries in a road accident that resulted in his hospitalization for a period of at least one day or the need for outpatient treatment. In this case, the provision of outpatient treatment is confirmed by documents (certificates) of the medical institution.

6. Limited visibility - the visibility distance for given driving conditions does not meet regulatory requirements due to the geometric characteristics of the road or weather conditions.

7. Road conditions accompanying an accident - actual road conditions at the site of the accident at the time of its occurrence. The fact that unsatisfactory road condition(s) was the cause of the accident is determined by a court decision (based on the results of the investigation).”

Alexander Otrokhov, Logos Legal Center (Omsk), 04/15/2015. (as amended on May 17, 2019)

Definition and classification of accidents in traffic rules

Road accidents can be viewed from various points of view, for example, as an offense or from a technical point of view.

Let's consider a road traffic accident according to the traffic rules of the Russian Federation: what is a road accident, what types of road accidents exist, their main characteristics and causes.

How do traffic rules treat a traffic accident?

According to the Rules, an accident is an event that occurred while a car was moving on the road, involving the vehicle itself, as a result of which death occurred, damage to health, property, structures or other material things was caused. This concept is fixed in clause 1.2 of the Traffic Regulations, the Federal Law “On Road Safety” and other legislative norms.

Signs of an accident

In order for an incident to be truly recognized as an accident, it must meet certain conditions:

• Sign of an event: as a result of the action or inaction of an individual, a phenomenon arose, which subsequently continued without his participation. Driving into the oncoming lane (action) or not turning on a turn signal (inaction) happen at the will of motorists, and harm occurs due to the operation of physical laws.
• Sign of vehicle movement: to recognize the fact of an accident, at least one of the vehicles involved must have been in motion. If a stationary car is damaged by a passerby, then the situation is an accident, even if there were no people in the first car. The fall of various things from a window or trees onto a car in the yard is not considered an accident, but is a cause of harm by citizens, public utilities, organizations, etc.;
• A sign of a road traffic process: in case of an accident, the movement of vehicles, people, and cargo on the road surface is established - a surface for movement, including roadsides, sidewalks, railroad crossings, and tram tracks. Despite the fact that courtyards and other adjacent areas are not roads, traffic on them is regulated by traffic rules, therefore collisions on them will be considered accidents;
• Sign of a vehicle: a technical device must be used, the purpose of which is to move people or goods along the roads. Transport can be driven by engines, human power, or animals. Bicycles, motorcycles, trailers, carts and carriages driven by donkeys or horses correspond to the concept of a vehicle, but the animals themselves are not recognized by them;
• Sign of consequences: after an accident, negative consequences must occur in the form of material damage to the environment, other vehicles or people, including their death.

Participants in an accident

Participants in the incident are persons involved in the accident as perpetrators or victims. The SDA identifies the following participants:

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• driver - the person driving the vehicle, drivers, driving instructors sitting in the passenger seat while students are driving the car;
• passenger - a citizen who gets into or out of a car driven by a driver, or is in it directly while driving or parking;
• pedestrian - a person who is not in any vehicle, but moves along the roadway, sidewalk, tram tracks or other element of the road. This includes people who skate, drive a bicycle, a scooter, or a stroller;
• cyclist – a person driving a bicycle, which, according to traffic regulations, is a vehicle.

Also, according to traffic regulations, the following categories of road accident participants can be distinguished:

• car owners;
• accident culprits;
• those responsible for the damage;
• victims and victims.

The culprit of the accident may be a pedestrian, and the mechanic who repaired the car may be responsible for causing the damage.

What are the types of road accidents?

Incidents can be divided into different types depending on their characteristics.

Based on the nature of the incident, the Rules distinguish the following types of accidents:

• collision - an accident due to contact of vehicles with each other, trains, impact on a suddenly braked car;
• rollover – an incident in which a vehicle overturns;
• collision with a standing vehicle – a moving vehicle has collided with a standing vehicle or trailer;
• hitting an obstacle - the vehicle has hit a stationary object (building, fence, fence, green space, poles) or has been hit;
• hitting a pedestrian - an accident in which a car hits a person or the latter collides with a vehicle transported by cargo or objects;
• collision with a cyclist - a car collides with a driven bicycle or vice versa;
• collision with horse-drawn vehicles - an accident in which a vehicle collides with carts driven by animals, or with the animals themselves;
• passenger fall - persons transported in a car fall outside the vehicle or in their interior due to a change in speed or trajectory of movement.
• other types of accidents - any types of accidents that cannot be classified as above: a wheel bouncing onto a pedestrian, a collision with a flying load, etc.

There are also non-contact accidents that are not indicated in the traffic rules. They are possible in situations where the driver provokes other road users to actions that cause them harm, but there is no physical contact between the culprit’s vehicle and the victims.

According to the nature of the harm:

• minor;
• large;
• with damage to cars;
• with damage to non-vehicles;
• with damage to human health;
• with the death of individuals.

By number of participants

• one driver;
• two participants (most common);
• three or more participants.

According to the severity of bodily injury:

• mild – short-term health disorder;
• medium – long-term health disorder;
• severe – life-threatening at the time of injury, loss of an organ or its function, termination of pregnancy, permanent disability or loss of professional skills;
• fatal outcome;
• serious situations - the death of several or the injury of many people.

A person killed in an accident, according to the Rules, is a person whose death occurred as a result of the actions of other road users at the time of the accident or within seven days after it as a result of injuries received.

A wounded person in an accident is considered to be an individual who has received injuries and damage that necessitate outpatient treatment or hospital stay for at least 24 hours.

What is not a traffic accident?

Situations when no vehicles were involved in the incident, they did not move, or no damage was caused to anyone cannot be classified as accidents.

In addition, if the collision occurred outside of places where traffic is regulated by traffic rules, then it is not an accident. For example, if cars collided in a field or on the ice of a lake, then the damage caused should be considered from the point of view of civil law.

Causes of road accidents

Road accidents are accompanied by certain factors that influence the behavior of road users. Statistics show that the following conditions most often influence road accidents:

• fatigue, illness, malaise of the driver;
• distraction (telephone, conversation with a passenger, loud music, animals in the cabin);
• meteorological phenomena that interfere with visibility or affect the technical condition of the road (snow, rain, fog, hail, hurricane, ice);
• damage to the road surface;
• alcohol or drug intoxication, taking medications that affect the perception of traffic conditions;
• technical malfunctions of vehicles.

These reasons can be divided into three types:

1. Subjective.
2. Road conditions.
3. Technical factors.

Other factors include the behavior of wild animals, various objects falling on the road, insufficient driver training, and ignorance of traffic rules.

Visibility and conditions accompanying an accident

The traffic rules define the concept of limited visibility, which is typical for the occurrence of an accident. This concept refers to a distance that does not meet the prescribed standards due to the physical characteristics of the road section or weather conditions.

Road conditions that accompany an accident are the conditions in a specific location on a section of the road at the time of the accident. If the causes of the incident are such conditions, then this must be established in a court decision on the basis of investigation materials and research examinations.

Main types and causes of road accidents

Officially, a road traffic accident (RTA) is a traffic situation involving at least one car, which led to damage to property or harm to human health. There are several common causes of road accidents, depending on the main culprit.

We are talking about road accidents caused by drivers, poor road conditions, adverse weather conditions or poor technical condition of the vehicle (for example, faulty steering). Pedestrians and cyclists are often to blame for accidents.

Main causes of road accidents

In the vast majority of cases, accidents occur due to intentional or accidental violation of traffic rules. Both from drivers and from pedestrians. This is the main cause of accidents. We are talking about a wide variety of violations - failure to comply with the speed limit, ignoring the rules for driving or crossing intersections, driving into the oncoming lane or driving through a prohibiting traffic light, failure to maintain distance, violation of the rules for crossing a railway crossing, not wearing a seat belt.

Often, traffic violations are made unintentionally or provoked by other factors. Causes of road accidents:

• Drinking alcohol while driving. According to global statistics, about 35% of all accidents occur with the participation of drunk vehicle drivers. And we are talking only about officially registered cases; often an examination is simply not ordered, because intoxication does not manifest itself outwardly. Alcohol significantly reduces the speed of reaction and maneuvers, and also leads to drowsiness (especially in combination with fatigue);
• Communication while driving. Nowadays there are a huge number of electronic gadgets that drivers can use while driving. And we’re not even talking about communicating on a mobile phone, but about sending emails, browsing social networks, using Viber, WatsAPP and other programs. All this significantly reduces the driver’s attentiveness and leads to a slower reaction to danger. Thus, talking on a mobile phone reduces reaction speed by 15-20%, and typing electronic messages reduces attentiveness by 6 or even 10 times;
• Poor technical condition of the car. The technical condition of a vehicle does not often cause accidents, but it can lead to very serious consequences, including death. For example, due to an incorrectly configured brake system of the car or a non-deployed airbag;
• Poor quality of road surface. This also includes malfunctioning traffic lights, incorrect placement of road signs, and ignoring the rules for applying road markings. The problem with roads is further aggravated by the fact that road services are extremely rarely held accountable for accidents caused by potholes and holes on dangerous sections of the road;
• Incorrect behavior of pedestrians on the road. This mainly concerns jaywalking or crossing an intersection when the traffic light is red. Most often, collisions with pedestrians who do not comply with traffic rules are made in the dark. Therefore, when walking in the evenings and at night, you should take care of the presence of reflective elements on your clothes;
• Bad weather conditions. When driving in fog, heavy rain, snow or ice, the viewing range is significantly reduced, the adhesion of the tires to the road surface is reduced, and the braking distance of the car is noticeably increased. These are just some of the adverse weather factors that are a common cause of road accidents.

There are several classifications of road accidents. For example, there is a division of road accidents according to the severity of the damage caused - with death, with harm to human health and with material damage. The overwhelming majority of accidents involve property damage, but in 2017 alone, more than 17 thousand people died as a result of road accidents in Russia, and more than 194 thousand people were seriously injured.

The main classification of road accidents is related to the characteristics of their occurrence, which are set out in the Traffic Rules. Types of accidents:

• A collision between two cars or a collision between a vehicle and a rolling stock. It can be caused by a technical malfunction of the car, a sudden stop by one of the drivers, or failure to maintain the required distance between two vehicles;
• Hitting an obstacle. The obstacle must be motionless; it can be absolutely any object, from a tree or pole to a road fence or house;
• Colliding with a stationary vehicle (as well as a trailer or semi-trailer);
• Rollover, vehicle overturn (if they are not caused by other types of accidents);
• Hitting a pedestrian. This includes cases where pedestrians were injured due to a load or other object falling from a vehicle;
• Hitting a cyclist;
• Hitting a horse-drawn vehicle. The latter refers to any draft animals, as well as the carts that they transport;
• Hitting animals, that is, any wild and domestic animals and birds. For such an incident to be considered a traffic accident, there must be property damage. That is, these animals must belong to someone;
• Other types of incidents. There are many types of road accidents that occur relatively rarely - derailment of a tram, falling loads or throwing foreign objects onto a person by a car wheel, hitting a suddenly appeared obstacle, passengers falling out of a moving car or falling from a motorcycle due to a sudden change in speed or trajectory traffic, hitting people who are not participants in the traffic.

How to protect yourself from road accidents?

It is not enough to know the main causes and types of accidents on the road; it is necessary to strictly follow the measures to prevent them. There are several dozen or even hundreds of such measures; we will mention only the most important of them. Not only the safety of your property, but also the health and even lives of people depends on compliance with safety measures:

• Always slow down before public transport, intersections and pedestrian crossings;
• Turn on your car's turning lights in a timely manner. You cannot do this too early or late so as not to mislead other drivers;
• Drive slowly along rows of parked cars. A child or an unlucky driver can run out of them at any moment;
• Never overtake on a right turn. Its visibility is noticeably limited, and due to a sudden loss of control, it is easy to get into the oncoming lane and collide with a car traveling at high speed;
• On highways located outside cities, you should drive exactly in the middle of the road. There is a high probability that a wild animal or pedestrian will suddenly run out onto the highway;
• Maintain distance between cars. In good weather it should be at least 2 seconds, in bad weather - 5 seconds (we are talking about the meters that the car travels in the specified time);
• Overtake with at least 100 or 200 meters to spare. In some situations, a free oncoming lane can save not only health, but also life;
• Change lanes only after carefully assessing the traffic situation. Modern motorcyclists and bikers are able to cover a distance of a hundred meters in a matter of seconds;
• Always assume that the driver in the next car is drunk or a greenhorn. This will help you carefully monitor all maneuvers on the road;
• Watch out for cars in the next lane. If your neighbor suddenly stops, this may mean that he is letting a pedestrian pass, which you cannot yet see;
• Never interfere with overtaking. If another car is trying to “press” you, then slow down and pull to the side of the road. This will protect you from accidents and save you a considerable number of nerve cells;
• You can apologize for an unsuccessful maneuver on the road by briefly turning on the emergency signal. Always use this sign, it can smooth out many conflict situations.

Finally, let’s voice the most basic rule of safe driving - “Give way to the Fool.” It is known as the “Three D Rule” and only means that you should never follow the lead of an unbalanced, inadequate or aggressive driver. If such a driver is spotted on the road, you should immediately give way. Trying to deal with inappropriate behavior means once again provoking an accident and wasting your nerves.

Types of accidents. Causes and consequences of an accident

A road traffic accident is an incident committed with the participation of at least one motor vehicle in motion, as a result of which harm is caused to the life or health of an individual, his property or the property of a legal entity. Road traffic accidents are divided into groups depending on the severity of the consequences, the nature (type) of the accident, the location of the incident and other characteristics.

According to the severity of the consequences, road accidents are divided into 3 groups: fatalities, bodily injuries and property damage. Bodily injuries are divided into severe, less serious, and minor.

By type, accidents are divided into vehicle collisions, vehicle rollovers, collisions with obstacles, collisions with pedestrians, collisions with cyclists, collisions with stationary vehicles, collisions with horse-drawn vehicles, collisions with animals, and others. The latter type of accident includes, for example, a fall of transported cargo, a fall of a passenger, or a blow from a detached wheel.

A study of road accidents showed that they most often occur in the summer-autumn period - from June to October, when the traffic volume of private cars on the roads sharply increases. Road accidents are also distributed unevenly by day of the week: the largest number of them falls on Friday and Saturday, when at the end of the work week people rush out of town. The surge in accidents occurs at the evening peak, which is explained not only by an increase in the intensity of traffic and pedestrians, but also by the onset of twilight (in the autumn-winter period), as well as by the fatigue of road users accumulated over the working day and a certain amount of haste. Traffic speed also has a special relationship with road accidents - almost all of them are related to speed in one way or another. In some cases it is the main cause, in others it does not allow avoiding an accident caused by other reasons, and in third cases it aggravates the consequences. There is a widespread misconception that the lower the speed, the lower the accident rate. On long, monotonous straight sections of highways, reducing the speed below the optimum is itself a cause of accidents. The safest speed is one that exactly matches the actual traffic conditions in a given area at a given moment. The safest is the average flow speed - any deviation from it leads to a sharp increase in accidents. This can be explained extremely simply - when moving at an average flow speed, maneuvering is minimal, the movement is uniform, without jerking, braking, lateral movements, etc. As the speed increases, maneuvers begin, especially overtaking - either you overtake hundreds of cars, or these hundreds overtake you - in any case, the danger increases tenfold. With increasing speed, especially after 80 km/h, the severity of the consequences quickly increases. The number of accidents in the city center, where the average speed is only about 30 km/h, is approximately 20 times higher than the number of accidents on highways, where the average speed reaches 100 km/h. This example confirms the fact that the cause of an accident is not speed itself, but its inconsistency with specific traffic conditions.

The fight against accidents in road transport is led and coordinated by the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate. The State Traffic Safety Inspectorate develops rules, regulations and standards for road safety and monitors compliance by all enterprises, organizations, institutions and individual citizens with these rules, regulations and standards. The main task of the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate is to improve the organization of traffic in order to ensure its safety and increase the efficiency of use of vehicles. To do this, the traffic police constantly checks the technical condition of vehicles and the road network.

The causes of road accidents are divided into 5 main blocks - drivers, pedestrians, vehicles, road conditions, and others.

• The biggest block of reasons is drivers. In some forms, there are up to 25 causes of accidents caused by drivers. The most common are drunkenness, speeding, failure to keep a distance, violation of overtaking rules, driving incorrectly at intersections, disobeying traffic lights, etc.
• The pedestrian block includes up to 10 reasons, the most common of which are drunkenness, crossing in an unspecified place, crossing in front of nearby traffic, unexpected exit due to an obstacle, etc. Not all pedestrian road users have fully realized the real danger that the road poses. The pursuit of a momentary gain in time again and again pushes another thoughtless pedestrian under the wheels of a vehicle. Few of these violators think about the sad consequences that such frivolous behavior on the road can lead to. And few people remember that roads were originally intended for traffic and the presence of pedestrians on them should be minimal in time and clearly regulated by traffic rules, otherwise there is a real threat to the health and life of the violator, as the above facts eloquently demonstrate. Self-preservation is the main motivation of any pedestrian to comply with simple traffic rules.
• The vehicle block includes about 20 reasons, the most common of which are damage to the brake hoses and other parts of the brake drive, breakdown of steering gear parts, rupture of the tire (front wheel), wear of the tire tread, etc.
• The road conditions block also includes about 20 reasons, the most common of which are slippery surfaces, uneven surfaces, limited visibility, poor roadside conditions, etc.
• The block of other reasons includes the fault of cyclists: drunkenness, sudden departure from a lane, failure to comply with the order of travel, etc.; the guilt of drivers and passengers; natural disasters, such as falling trees, etc.

Anyone who gets behind the wheel or inside a car should remember that there is always a risk of becoming involved in an accident. Unfortunately, even 100% compliance with the Traffic Rules does not always guarantee complete safety, because There are people on the road who, through their illegal actions, can cause an accident. Therefore, the task of everyone who is in the car is to minimize possible negative consequences in the event of an accident.

It is better to exaggerate the danger 1000 times than to make a mistake even once. After all, this one time may prove fatal.

And as a result of an accident, in any case, negative consequences occur, be it a car breakdown, injury or death. And here it is very important to understand that the driver and passengers are able to influence the severity of possible consequences. We are talking about a simple device that has been faithfully serving humanity for more than 50 years, saving thousands of lives on the roads every year. The name of this device is the seat belt. The first three-point seat belt appeared on a production Volvo car in 1951, and its great-grandfather, the lap seat belt, was patented in 1904. Unfortunately, not all drivers and passengers realize that wearing a seat belt is the last chance to survive in a serious accident. You can hear a lot of excuses about this, but they are all untenable and far-fetched. Children passengers are in a special position; you can often see children being carried in the arms of unbelted passengers, or standing in the opening between the two front seats. Both methods of transportation are deadly for small passengers. In the first case, the child may receive fatal injuries from the weight of an adult passenger falling on him, and in the second case, the child will inevitably hit either the front panel or the windshield. Moreover, both options are possible not only in the event of an accident, but even in the event of emergency braking. Therefore, special child car seats must be used to safely transport children. In addition, excess, unsecured objects located in the car at the time of an accident turn into projectiles that can fatally injure the driver and passengers. More serious consequences can also be caused by improper seating. In a reclining position, the driver or passengers at the time of an accident dive under the safety seat belt and, bypassing it, receive serious injuries.

Inspector (for traffic safety promotion and search) OGIBDD About the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia