NUMBER OF TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS INCREASED BY ABOUT 40%

Noyan Tapan
Jul 25, 2007

YEREVAN, JULY 25, NOYAN TAPAN. According to the data of the first
half of 2007, 792 traffic accidents have been registered in Armenia,
as a result of which 139 people died and 1140 people received body
injuries. According to the information provided by Colonel Ishkhan
Ishkhanian, the Head of the RA Police Administration, during his
meeting with journalists, which was held on July 24, the number of
accidents has increased by 187 or by 30.9%, the number of those dead
by 26, and that of those injured by 317, in comparison with the same
period of last year.

348 or 43.9% of the traffic accidents took place in Yerevan, as a
result of which 37 people died and 461 were injured. In comparison
with the same period of last year, the number of accidents in the
capital has increased by 63 or 22.1%, the number of those dead by 3,
and that of the injured by 106.

Thus, 33.7% of the total number of the accidents happened in Yerevan.

244 of the accidents or 30.8% of the total number took place on the
roads of intergovernmental significance, 70 people died and 402 were
injured: in comparison with the same period of last year the number
of similar accidents has increasd by 82, that of those dead by 30,
and those injured by 136.

According to Ishkhan Ishkhanian, the cases of running over passers-by
make 36.5% of the total number of accidents or 289, within which 43
people died and 275 were injured. In comparison with the same period
of last year, the number of similar accidents has increased by 40
and that of those injured by 41, as for the number of those dead,
it has decreased by 3. 83 accidents connected with children under 16
have been registered, as a result of which 6 children died and 9 were
injured: in comparison with the same period of last year, the number
of similar accidents has decreased by 3, that of those dead by 2,
and finally, the number of those injured has decreased by 2.

According to Ishkhan Ishkhanian, 89 cases remain undiscovered among
the accidents happened during the first half of 2007: in comparison
with the same period of the last year the number of similar cases
has increased by 5.

The Chief of the Road Police mentioned that the number of infringements
of traffic regulations has remained the same, approximately 37
thousand. the number of records with regard to drivers in a drunken
state has decreased twice: it makes 408 in return for 1191 registered
in the same period of the last year.

At present, approximately 350 thousand transport means are taken
account of in Armenia, 308 thousand out of which are for personal
use. This number has increased by approximately 25 thousand during
2006, and according to the data of the first half of 2007, it has
increased by approximately 16 thousand.

In response to journalists’ questions, Ishkhan Ishkhanian declared that
about 550 million drams (about 1.64 million dollars) has been credited
in the extra-budget accounts of the Road Police in the form of the
fines recovered for the infringements of the traffic regulations. 30%
of the above-mentioned sum is envisaged to be directed at the increase
of the salary of the collaborators of the Road Police, and the rest
of the sum for the technical development of the subdivision. This
year three collaborators of the Road Police have been relieved of
the system, 20 of them have been submitted to different disciplinary
punishments, and a criminal case has been filed concerning a fact of
corruption revealed in Abovian.

The Chief of the Road Police declared that currently negotiations
are being conducted with "ArmenTel" and "Vivacell" for creating a
hot line of information by citizens about traffic jams and accidents.