MIA Presents Road Safety Action Plan 2019
By Tea Mariamidze
Wednesday, April 17
Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) has introduced the Road Safety Action Plan to be implemented by the end of 2019 and the Social Campaign - For More Life.
According to the analysis, presented by MIA, only last year 459 people died in road accidents and in the last 10 years, 6,608 people died in Georgia and 85, 946 people were injured.
It was stated that in 2018, the Ministry of Internal Affairs launched a complete renewal of the national video surveillance system to combat this challenge. By the end of 2017, 170 cameras were operating across the country, while now more than 2600 cameras work, which report traffic violations.
“Due to the measures carried out by the Ministry, in 2018 the number of deaths in road accidents decreased by 11%. Also, the number of the injured went down,” the ministry said, adding by the end of 2019, over 5,000 video cameras will be installed in Georgia, including 2100 smart cameras.
The ministry noted that by the end of the year, the number of patrol police crews will be increased, who will move in major cities of Georgia and will impose appropriate sanctions for drivers who violate traffic rules.
MIA also plans to launch vehicle number detecting mobile systems, which will allow patrol police to identify the drivers with different categories of risk and check them within preventive measures of the police actions.
Minister of Internal Affairs Giorgi Gakharia noted that raising public awareness is especially important in the process of stepping up road safety.
He said the campaign – For More Life - serves the aim to increase the awareness about road safety.
Within the framework of the campaign, the installation of crashed cars in Tbilisi and regions was made. Banners and relevant video clips also appeared in the country.
A web site formore.life and Facebook page were created where all the news will be posted.
“The goal of the social campaign is to make each citizen will once again think about the tragic consequences of violations of traffic rules,” the minister said.
Gakharia also stressed that in terms of the deceased people in road accidents, Georgia leads in the region and Europe as well.
“No state agency - MIA, roads department or Health Ministry can solve this problem alone because it is a challenge for the whole society,” he said.
The minister added that main reasons for traffic accidents are: exceeding speed, transitioning to the opposite direction, not obeying traffic signs and drunk driving.
