While alcohol is the leading cause of traffic accidents in the world, in Ukraine the poor design of roads should not be underestimated. When in 2019 Reece Lynch, a bold UK filmmaker, drove his grandmother’s Ford Fiesta 3,700 km right across Europe to the Ukrainian Donbas to film the ongoing war for his project First Focus, it took him three days to drive halfway — from the UK to the Ukrainian border — and then five days for the other half — from the Ukrainian border to the Donbas.
Why is there such a difference? Because Ukraine has few highways. Although the overall network of thoroughfares is well-developed, it mainly consists of only two-lane roads. Lynch probably obeyed the speed limits of 60 and 80 km of villages — however, it is not usual for many Ukrainian drivers who save time by driving at least 100 km — even through villages. They would probably say there is no alternative, and a potential speeding fine of UAH 510 ($19) is not much of a disincentive. Here is what to expect on Ukrainian roads and how the situation eventually is improving.
Disclaimer: despite widespread perceptions, Ukraine’s traffic-related mortality rate is relatively low on the world scale. Yet, it is the second most dangerous country in Europe.
Only Russia had a higher death and injury rate in 2017, and Ukrainians are fed up with the situation. The countries with the safest roads such as Switzerland, Singapore, and Sweden have a little over three deaths and injuries per 100,000.
Admittedly, the situation on Ukrainian roads is probably worse than official statistics indicated, as Head of the Vision Zero road safety initiative Viktor Zagreb told BBC.
On the other hand, the common perception of all roads in Ukraine being terrible is not entirely correct, either. What was indeed a disastrous reality 10 years ago has become a terrible memory. A major program of road reconstruction was started by former Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman (2016-2019) and is now continuing by President Zelenskyy’s team.
Speed limits that will not work without proper roads and alternative highways
[On 1 June, the first traffic cameras monitoring speed limits were installed around Kyiv. On the first day, a camera captured a record violation by a car — 208 km per/hour on a road where the speed limit is 80. In the first five days, 45 cameras captured some 200,000 violations.Offending drivers receive a letter advising them of their fine and requiring payment or court appearance. Clearly, it will be difficult to administer the large number of fines generated by traffic cameras. Nonetheless, police have set a goal of 683 cameras in the country by the end of the year.
This is the necessary reform that many citizens have been waiting for. Cameras are the only effective tool to impede gross violations of traffic rules and for all drivers to abide by the same rules — regardless of their income or status. However, as Pavlo Syrvatka, division head at the state-owned, road construction company Ukravtodor explained, neither cameras nor road regulations will contribute sufficiently to minimize the risk of traffic accidents and control speed limits — the design of roads is at the heart of the matter.
Roads with speed limits of 20, 40, or 60 km/hour should look like roads with such limits. Roads with limits of 110 or over should look like actual highways with multi-lanes. In Ukraine, however, multi-lane motorways are rare, and even those often pass through villages.
Conversely, some motorways between cities — which should be designed as highways — look like ordinary two-lane rural roads. If stuck behind a slow vehicle, drivers will often switch to the lane in the opposite direction, driving dangerously fast and sometimes in the face of an oncoming vehicle. These defects in road design exacerbate an already bad situation.
The road reform and extensive motorway network under construction
The government’s previous reconstruction, although very important, only allowed for the renovation of existing roads.
In January 2020, Ukravtodor, the Ukrainian state company that is responsible for road construction and management, announced the development of an extensive motorway network.
This new level of commitment will not only bring about the repair of existing roads but will also allow for the two-to-four lane widening of major thoroughfares. This country-wide upgrade will mean speed limits can appropriately match the route.
The widening of highways directly affects the time of travel between cities.
For example, a 477 km journey from Kyiv to Dnipro will decrease by two hours, from 6.5 hours to 4.5 hours. As well, according to engineering plans, particular attention will be paid to safety measures. Road construction will include underground or elevated pedestrian crossings, new road signs with reflective coating, and better lighting and road signals, as well as digital systems to monitor road safety and to detect violations. These measures will help increase comfort and safety and reduce road fatalities, as outlined in the Ukravtodor project proposal.
The government also announced that the 84 km road from Lviv to the Polish border will be built by private investors according to the public/private concession agreement. The road will be privately owned and managed for 49 years and tolls will apply. If construction gets underway before year-end as planned, the Lviv highway will be the first toll motorway in the country. The law on paid roads and public/private concession agreements, adopted in 2018, gave way to a new era in infrastructure management in Ukraine.
Read also:
- Ukraine’s transport potential: key facts you should know
- 10 successes of Ukraine in 2019 you don’t know about but should
- On the verge of disaster: top 5 environmental problems in Ukraine
- Ukraine’s economic losses due to Russian occupation of Donbas
- $ 5,000 still to go!How can Kyiv become the center of Europe? Find answers at the Kyiv Investment Forum 2019
