OREANDA-NEWS  The introduction of international economic sanctions and the closure of borders led to an increase in accidents in 2022, primarily in the eastern regions of the country, the number of accidents on a number of highways increased to almost 80%, according to the report of the Scientific Center for Road Safety (NC BDD) The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, writes Kommersant. The authors of the report attribute this to the redistribution of traffic flows from the west to the southeast - Turkey, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, China. As a result, the main transport arteries were overloaded, vehicle mileage increased, they explained.

So, on the federal highway A-320 (Omsk — border with Kazakhstan), the accident rate increased by 76% last year, on the Amur R-297 (Chita — Khabarovsk) — by 25%, A-321 (Barnaul — border with Kazakhstan) — by 20.8%, on the R-256 "Chuisky tract" (Novosibirsk — border with Mongolia) — by 9%. In addition, the number of accidents involving foreign drivers has increased in federal districts bordering Asian countries: in the Far East, an increase of 29.6% was recorded, in the Urals - by 27.8%, in the Siberian — by 15.1%. On the highways that lead to the western borders, the accident rate, on the contrary, decreased: on the M-9 — by 23.8%, on the M-10 — by 23%, on the P-21 (St. Petersburg — Norway) — by 17.6%.

According to the report, the vehicle fleet increased by only 0.5% over the year, whereas before it grew by 1.4–1.9% annually. The Scientific Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs explains this by a drop in demand for vehicles, the shutdown and suspension of a number of industries, as well as difficulties in the supply of significant components.

Already in Russia, the service life of 25.6% (13 million) passenger cars, 41.1% (2.7 million) trucks, 22.9% (0.2 million) buses and 80.6% (1.9 million) motorcycles exceeds 15 years. The authors of the report fear that an increase in the service life of cars, as well as the use of "alternative, less high-quality" spare parts may affect road safety.

The report also notes that the number of used cars imported from Eastern countries (mainly Japanese brands) has increased by 72%, and most of them are right-hand drive. "A further increase in their importation may negatively affect the state of accidents, given that the greatest popularity of such vehicles is traditionally observed in the eastern part of the country, where the situation with accidents has already become complicated due to the reorientation of traffic flows," the authors warn.

The Russian industry decreased by 0.6% by the end of 2022, Rosstat reported. Among specific industries, the largest decline was recorded in the production of motor vehicles (minus 51%), household appliances (minus 40%), components and accessories for cars (minus 38%).