Officials believe that speeding and failure to follow traffic rules are the main reasons for the increase in road accidents in Tajikistan. But experts also attribute this to the influence of corruption. Accidents involving officials’ children are of particular concern.
In September, Tajik society was once again shaken by a high-profile traffic accident that killed young Tajik singer Nekruz Niyozov.
The next day, the Dushanbe Department of the Interior Ministry reported that on September 21, 2023, Lexus RX350 driver Komyob Faizullo collided with a Lexus RX350 driven by Akhtamzoda Oyatullo Khushbakht, hitting pedestrian Nekruz Niyozov, who was standing on the side of the road. On the morning of September 22, Nekruz Niyozov died in Dushanbe’s Shifobakhsh Hospital.
At the time, the Dushanbe City Department of Internal Affairs emphasized that “all the necessary materials have been prepared and a preliminary investigation is underway”.
However, a month has passed since the accident, and the details of the accident are still unknown. The media, citing their sources, found out that one of the participants in the accident was the son of Faizullo Mashrab Kurbanali, rector of the Russian-Tajik Slavic University.
No information about the circumstances under which the fatal accident occurred was given by the Interior Ministry. Sources in the prosecutor’s office told the media that the rector’s son had been detained. Neither video nor photos from the scene of the accident have been made public.
How effective are measures to reduce road accidents?
Recently, the public has been concerned about the growing number of fatal road accidents. According to the Interior Ministry, in the first six months of 2023, 492 road accidents were registered in Tajikistan, 10 more than in the same period in 2022. As a result, 193 people died – 13 more than last year. The total number of injured people is 514, which is also 5 more than last year.
To solve this problem and to control compliance with traffic rules back in 2013, the Safe City project was introduced in Dushanbe, under which 855 video surveillance cameras were installed at 75 intersections and central streets of the capital.
In 2017, the Tajik Parliament adopted amendments to the Criminal Code and the Code of Administrative Offenses, which significantly increased penalties for failure to comply with traffic rules.
Taking into account these changes, for example, driving a vehicle in a state of alcohol intoxication, which caused the death of a person or serious harm to health by negligence, is punishable by imprisonment for a term of five to ten years with deprivation of the right to engage in certain activities for 10 years.
Also, the period of deprivation of driving license was increased from 2 to 10 years. Driving under the influence of alcohol is punishable by a fine of 300 calculation indices, i.e. 19,800 somoni (1 calculation index is 68 somoni for 2023) or about 1,800 USD, or administrative arrest for 15 days with deprivation of the right to drive a vehicle for up to 5 years.
Liability for driving without a driver’s license has also been increased from 3 -5 to 250 calculation indices – 17 thousand somoni (1,550 USD). For driving without a driver’s license while intoxicated, the fine has been increased from 50 to 400 calculation indexes – 27,200 somoni (2,480 USD). At the same time, in case of repeated violations, a person may be held criminally liable.
However, despite the measures taken, as the above statistics show, the number of road accidents and related deaths is increasing.
Analysis of Law Enforcement
Officials say they have analyzed the causes of road accidents and identified the main reasons for the increase in road accidents.
Saimumin Hasanzoda, head of the agitation and propaganda department of the Interior Ministry’s traffic police department, also confirms that the number of road accidents has indeed increased, but attributes the reasons to the human factor and the low culture of drivers’ behavior on the roads.
“Our analysis showed that the main reason is increased speed (75%), failure to comply with the rules of overtaking (45%), ignorance of the most elementary rules of the road. And on international highways, the main reason for more accidents is driver fatigue (25%),” Saimumin Hasanzoda told CABAR.asia.
In addition, he believes that pedestrians, who also do not follow the rules as road users, also have an impact on the increase in accidents.
Saimumin Hasanzoda also noted the increase in traffic and intensity of traffic on the country’s roads and emphasized that today more than 600 thousand vehicles are registered in Tajikistan and this has a noticeable impact on road traffic.
Corruption needs to be prevented, not hidden
Experts believe several factors contribute to the rise in fatal accidents.
Navruz Odinayev, head of the Khimoya legal organization and head of the Public Council on Police Reforms, also believes the main reasons for the increase in traffic accidents are speeding, ignorance of traffic rules and failure to observe the simplest road safety rules.
“Some of our drivers do not know and do not observe the elementary rules of the road. For example, most of them do not wear seat belts under various pretexts, increase speed in prohibited places. All this surely ends up with bad consequences,” he notes.
He adds that one of the influencing factors is also the way of obtaining a driver’s license.
“Some people, including children of officials and rich people, get driver’s licenses by any means, including simply paying for them, which leads to an increase in traffic accidents,” Navruz Odinaev says.
He emphasizes that these phenomena should not be hidden, but ways to prevent them should be sought.
Accidents involving children of officials are a cause of concern for the Ministry of Internal Affairs
Road accidents involving children of officials and prominent businessmen are another topic widely discussed among residents of the capital.
More than 10 fatal road accidents involving children of the country’s prominent officials and businessmen have occurred in Tajikistan over the past few years, killing several people. Analysis shows that in most cases, the perpetrators of these accidents were exonerated, fined or immediately released under an amnesty.
In this regard, Saimumin Hasanzoda emphasizes that road accidents involving children of officials in expensive cars and, in general, the increase in the accident rate have caused concern both for the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the State Automobile Inspectorate.
However, independent experts believe that it is this light punishment – fines or amnesty – that causes frequent road accidents involving children of officials, and this worries citizens.
What needs to be done?
Saimumin Hasanzoda said that the traffic police department takes concrete measures to prevent and reduce road accidents. In particular, by conducting operations “Traffic Speed”, “Pedestrian”, “Technical Inspection”, “Buses” and others, they try to reduce the level of road accidents and encourage drivers and pedestrians to observe road safety rules.
Navruz Odinayev suggests that every driver study traffic rules before getting a driver’s license. It is necessary to control how future drivers learn and how they get their driver’s licenses.
“Speed-fixing devices should be installed on the country’s roads to detect and penalize speeding drivers. This is more effective, as seen in the experience of foreign countries,” says Navruz Odinaev.
He also suggests toughening penalties and fines for non-compliance with traffic rules.
Yokub Halimov, a Tajik journalist who has investigated ways to obtain a driver’s license in the country, said Tajikistan’s low driving culture is one of the main reasons for the increase in accidents.
“People who do not follow the culture of behavior and discipline being pedestrians, will they follow order behind the wheel of a car? Rude behavior, arrogance, insolence, ignorance and moral ignorance of drivers – all these are the reasons that, unfortunately, lead to the death of people,” Yokub Halimov said.
It’s wrong to look only for technical reasons in the growing number of road accidents, he said.
“The cause of the vast majority of accidents is the human factor – failure to follow the rules due to disregard for other road users,” says Yokub Halimov.
He also proposes to disqualify drivers who clearly violate traffic rules for 6 months or 1 year. And in case of non-compliance with these procedures and repeated violations, to suspend driver’s license for 5 years.
But the most important factor in reducing traffic accidents, according to most experts, is unconditional compliance with the law, i.e. elimination of corruption in granting driver’s licenses, application of the same punishment for all citizens, proper control over compliance with traffic rules, and transparency of accident investigation.
Yokub Khalimov said that the sense of impunity associated with corruption is an important factor. When one can only pay a fine for a gross violation of traffic rules, the number of road accidents increases, he said.
“No matter how big the fine is, it is still ‘powerless’ to make drivers comply with traffic rules. People with money or officials who are greedy contribute to the feeling of impunity,” Yokub Halimov emphasizes.