The new Traffic Rules, which are being promoted in the draft law on traffic and its safety, have not removed the obligation from the pedestrian to make themselves visible at the pedestrian crossing. Police investigators say this moment avoids punishment for drivers who beat a man on a “zebra” in the dark. There are many illuminated pedestrian crossings in Vinnytsia, which are known both by Vinnytsia who is traveling by transport and by those who are moving on their own two. The editorial board tried to find the most dangerous of the zebras with the help of experts. And yet – to find out whether the city authorities are going to eliminate the problem of darkness at pedestrian crossings once and for all. The blood near Ferida Plaza. A motorcyclist knocked down a girl at a crosswalk. It was in the dark. And not on the darkest zebra in town. But there are dozens like this headline in the news feed 20minut.ua. Only this year, according to the regional police, 34 people were killed in traffic accidents involving pedestrians, and 6 were killed. In the same period last year, there were twice as many people killed in road crashes with pedestrians. Drivers the journalist spoke to, exploring the problem of illumination of unregulated pedestrian crossings, said: most of them in the outskirts of the city. The center helps to see pedestrians driving the street lights. And out of town – it’s dark, though in the eye. “At the bypass, near Kurochka cafe and the police department, there the cars go off at all and never stop. The only way out is to install signs that are illuminated by lanterns in the dark, or pedestrians need to wear light-reflecting vests with reflective tape,” says Vinnytsia activist Andrei Gaidai.
The refractive elements on pedestrians’ belongings and clothing will not be overturned by the new Traffic Regulations, which are promoted in the draft law “On Traffic and its Safety”. According to one of its authors, human rights activist Volodymyr Karavaev, the new rules ask for pedestrian crossings to be marked in two ways at the same time – by a road marking and a warning sign. “The legislation now requires a pedestrian crossing with signs or markings. We insist – both signs and markings. This is a fundamental difference,” the human rights activist explains. “We bring back the practice that used to be when pedestrian crossings were safer. But he agrees that sometimes the signs are not visible – they cover up tree branches or over time lose the ability to reflect the headlights of cars.
“I drove from Vinnytsia along the Zhytomyr highway and paid attention to the signs – they are not visible. Either they do not have reflective properties at all, or they merge,” says Vladimir Karavaev. “These are not new routes! As for urban conditions, it is not necessary to say that the driver will see a pedestrian on an unlit road. 90 percent will not see, because no one simply rubs the signs. They are covered with dust and dirt and they do not reflect light properly. This is another problem,” continues the human rights activist. The police are not trained to give a clear assessment of the circumstances of the accident. If the car knocked down a pedestrian at such a crossing, as you say, the police will blame the driver. It will not be understood that the driver ran into the man because he did not see a sign that has not been wiped for ten years. If such cases were held responsible for those responsible for the state of the roads, then the situation would change. So do new rules change for pedestrian safety? What do they say about illuminating unregulated pedestrian crossings? They also oblige pedestrians to make sure there are no vehicles and make themselves visible in the dark before crossing the road. At the last moment, an investigator specializing in the investigation of resonant road accidents with deaths told the journalist that the suspected drivers could be avoided. The protection of the pedestrian-hit driver always tries to prove the victim’s mistake in this way. Like, he did not provide his visibility, as required by the rules, then he is guilty. “Physically, forcing our pedestrians to wear reflective vests is simply unrealistic,” says Vladimir Karavaev. There are traffic lights everywhere, one of them, near the former brewery, works around the clock, and has good lighting in the dark. However, students at this school are well aware of the fact that flickers (or fliers) were given to them by the reflectors of the liquidated service last year, and the children were used to wear them constantly. “I have flickered on my hen and my backpack,” says Maxim, a fourth-grade student at Gymnasium No. 6. “And my classmates all wear things that glow in the dark. It’s cool. And we also know that the drivers see us from afar. From a distance, pedestrians can also be seen on the crosswalks that are on Zodiac Street. No, the residents of Podillya do not wear flicker.”
“There is a need for lighting, but it must be done very carefully,” says human rights activist Karavayev. If you do not work out a single standard for illumination of non-regulated pedestrian crossings, then you can adjust the firewood. Someone would spin a 40-watt light bulb to shine somewhere in the transition area and assume that there was the lighting. This light bulb does not affect. There are now transitions, apparently illuminated, but there is still no pedestrian there. Have the only rules to cover “zebras”. We ask Volodymyr Karavaev if the number of transient accidents will reduce the lighting projects currently underway in Kyiv.
“If we don’t do the transition lighting, everything will be a plus. Definitely, without doing anything, we will not change the situation,” says the human rights activist. “In Europe, they have come up with a lot of novelties that can be borrowed. But everything is based on financing, as always in our country. It should also be understood that lighting is not the only problem,” continues the interlocutor. On the brightest sunny day, pedestrians also get under the cars. They arrange problems for themselves. They are beaten by the tens every month. And they cannot understand at all that they must take care of their safety. Here it will be winter, it will be slippery, and they will also go out on the carriageway in front of the car, with absolutely not even looking in the direction of the car. At the same time, there will be earphones in the ears sticking out, a hood will be worn on the head, which completely covers the inspection.