Three weeks after eliminating traffic police, accidents are on the rise in Ukraine (08/14/05)

Three weeks after eliminating traffic police, accidents are on the rise in Ukraine

by Yana Sedova
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - Mykola Kashchuk, 44, was crossing a Kyiv street when a speeding Soviet car struck him after it swerved to avoid striking another vehicle.

Mr. Kashchuk's leg snapped and broke as he tumbled to the asphalt. Meanwhile, the driver fled the scene.

"I am sure this happened because of the DAI reform," Mr. Kashchuk said.

Ever since Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko announced that he was eliminating Ukraine's State Traffic Inspection (DAI) three weeks ago, traffic accidents and casualties have jumped as drivers have become more reckless on Ukraine's roads, no longer fearing authority.

"Drivers became insolent," said Mr. Kashchuk, who himself has been a professional driver for almost 18 years. "They feel that they can get away with this. To tell the truth, so do I."

Mr. Kashchuk's frustration is well founded, according to DAI statistics.

The department compared traffic accidents on July 31 and Aug. 1 with the same year-ago figures. Mr. Yushchenko signed the presidential order eliminating the DAI on July 19.

On those two days this year, there were 233 traffic accidents compared with 149 the same period a year ago. Deaths increased dramatically as 50 people died this year, compared with only 18 during those two days in 2004.

To cope with the increased recklessness, Vitalii Yarema, the chair of the Interior Ministry's main department, addressed an Aug. 8 letter to Ukraine's drivers requesting that they show regard to fellow citizens during a difficult period of changes, to be patient and to follow traffic rules.

DAI reform binds citizens to be mindful of one another, he said.

"Remember the time of the Orange Revolution, when everyone was so polite with each other," Mr. Yarema said. "Nobody canceled the rules."

Since the July 19 order, the number of Kyiv traffic accidents increased by a third, according to Mr. Yarema.

The main violations are speeding (a fivefold increase) and breaking turning rules (a three-and-a-half times increase).

Deaths and casualties increased by a third as well, Mr. Yarema said.

Drivers are not only to blame, however.

DAI posts vanished nationwide once Mr. Yushchenko declared "there would no longer be a State Traffic Inspection in Ukraine" because it was highly corrupt and badly managed its priority tasks, professional drivers said.

In the interim period during which the Ukrainian government will reorganize the DAI into two divisions, the Traffic Security Service and the Patrol Service, its officers are committing sabotage by not doing their jobs, Mr. Kashchuk said.

Not so, said Hennadii Hrebniov, the chair of the DAI's Office of Preventive Work. DAI officers are still doing their jobs, he said.

After Mr. Yushchenko's order, which many critics said was far too rash, the Ministry of Internal Affairs has been making decisions on the fly to meet expectations.

"Officials have been talking about reform, not DAI liquidation, as late as two weeks after Mr. Yushchenko's statement," said Vasylii Popik, the chairman of the Professional Union of Taxi Drivers.

So far, the Ministry has been preparing billboard advertising that will promote safe driving, appeal to a sense of responsibility and urge drivers not to give bribes, Minister of Internal Affairs Yurii Lutsenko said at an Aug. 5 meeting with Mr. Yushchenko.

The main idea is to create a European model of traffic patrol in which officers relate to drivers in a positive way, Mr. Yushchenko said.

The structure and purpose of the new traffic divisions will seek to decrease the number of accidents rather than merely react to them, he said.

The Traffic Security Service will regulate traffic, deal with traffic jams, register cars, issue license plates, administer driving tests and provide escort services to Ukraine's president, prime minister and Verkhovna Rada speaker, said Mr. Hrebniov.

The Patrol Service would focus more on monitoring "civil order" on the roads and on sidewalks, patrolling designated territories and preventing criminal activity before it occurs, he said.

The Verkhovna Rada will examine a new bill as a top priority in September, according to the president's press service, in order to adapt the legislation that will conform with the DAI overhaul.

Though low wages had been a primary reason of DAI corruption, the ministry won't raise salaries, but instead improve its system of bonuses as well as penalties for disciplinary violations, Mr. Hrebniov said.

"If a person cannot manage the task, his salary can be cut," Mr. Hrebniov said. "But if there are no problems with the officer's designated territory, he will be encouraged with extra pay."

DAI salaries range from $120 to $300 a month, he said.

In two months, DAI officers will have new symbols, uniforms and duties and by the year's end, the ministry will place 400 video cameras to record traffic accidents throughout Kyiv, with plans to expand to all of Ukraine's major cities.

But to professional drivers, reforms without salary increases are meaningless.

"It's impossible to beat corruption with the same personnel," said Mr. Kashchuk, who sees the only way out in increasing salaries and replacing all officers.

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