The weather changes every hour. How to get home safe and sound? Asked the traffic police

Either frost, then thaw, then sleet, then rain, then strong wind, then a blizzard - the current weather dictates harsh conditions to the driver. Driving is not easy even for experienced car owners. Together with the employees of the Strela special unit, we are studying the peculiarities of driving in this capricious winter.

Drunk driving

Senior inspectors of the traffic police of the escort service, police major Yuri Tyutyunov and captain Denis Norov, started work in the morning. I ask the crew if Monday is really a hard day.

- The morning was restless: for two hours of patrolling, a lawless person and two drivers in a state of intoxication were detained on Lyubimov Street in the Frunzensky district , - says Yuri Tyutyunov. - A man in a Chevrolet Aveo with 0.6 ppm in his blood was taking a child to school. Approximately the same number - the girl behind the wheel of Opel Zafira. Both drivers explained that they had been drinking the night before. The man is beer, the woman is champagne. Violators now face deprivation of rights for 3 years and a fine of 100 basic units (3,700 rubles).

Our Geely rushes along the Moscow Ring Road. I notice that the drivers passing by are not particularly reckless.

- Apparently, they understand that it is raining, and the thermometer is -5 ° C, in which case it will drift - you won’t have time to blink an eye, - I express my version.

- I would like to believe in the consciousness of our drivers, - Denis Norov comments on the situation. - However, human psychology should also be taken into account here: if a traffic police car is in sight, many automatically slow down and behave diligently. Therefore, recently, control over the situation on the road has been carried out in a so-called mixed way: inspectors work simultaneously on "civilian" cars and on special vehicles with characteristic pasting and beacons on the roof. Therefore, I advise you to always follow the traffic rules.

The weather changes every hour - don't speed up

In the area of ​​Kamennaya Gorka, we stop the Volkswagen driver, who has slightly exceeded the speed limit. His explanation is traditional - "I'm in a hurry to work."

- At best, such a rush can result in a fine, at worst - an accident. Speeding is perhaps the most common cause of an accident. On a slippery road, the braking distance increases tenfold. When choosing the speed of movement, it is necessary to take into account not only the requirements of road signs, but also the situation on the road, difficult weather conditions, - Yury Tyutyunov explains. - It is additionally required to slow down at night, during snowfall, ice, in dense urban areas and when passing pedestrian crossings, bridges and overpasses. In general, in winter, when driving, the driver must be as concentrated as possible, keep a large distance, so that in case of emergency braking it is possible to reduce speed, up to a stop.

- Despite the fact that the speed limit sign is installed only on potentially dangerous and difficult sections of roads, drivers are often in no hurry to remove their foot from the gas pedal after crossing it. Ignoring this rule in winter can lead to drifts, adds Denis Norov. - The worst thing is when they violate the rules of overtaking at the place of a dangerous turn, where the visibility of the road is reduced. The car moves into the oncoming lane - as a result, a head-on collision. In such accidents, casualties are inevitable. The weather this winter is changing hourly. In the morning I left - puddles, by the evening it froze - they were covered with a thin layer of ice. And in the headlights, water and ice look the same. Therefore, when leaving, do not rush to accelerate, try to slow down slightly to determine the condition of the road surface under the wheels of your car.

Trouble in an empty place

In one of the courtyards along Beruta Street, we notice a ridiculous accident: the Citroen driver was driving out of the parking lot, and at that time the tractor, on which the sand sprinkler is installed, was pulling back. As a result, the "Frenchman" has badly dented sides, the left mirror is broken. Since it was not possible to leave amicably because of the great damage, inspectors from the traffic police of the Frunzensky district arrived at the scene of the accident to draw up a protocol and diagram of the accident.

- Blame, most likely, both drivers. Citroën did not give a signal with a light turn indicator before starting to move, and the tractor "forgot" about the rules for reversing. Neither one nor the other ensured road safety, the Strela crew suggested.

"Snowdrift" on the way

According to traffic police officers, lazy unfortunate drivers who consider it hard to work with a brush in the morning are also dangerous in winter. Lightly cleared the front windshield of snow - and drove off. As a motorist with great experience, I confess: you go after such a "snowdrift" in the stream - and your hamstrings are shaking.

Traffic police officers explain: on the roof of the car, which has not been cleaned for a long time, ice forms under a layer of snow. At speed, the flow of the headwind will forcefully tear off the mass. And in the first place - it is the ice layers that will fly into those who ride behind. And this is very dangerous.

- I also advise you to thoroughly clean the windows and mirrors before the trip - in winter, a good overview is extremely important! Drivers must respect each other. Moreover, both in winter and in summer, - Yury Tyutyunov sums up.

Of the reagents - SALT and sand

To control the necessary conditions on the roads in each region of the country, there is a round-the-clock dispatch service. Anna Kurilenok, press secretary of the Ministry of Transport and Communications, told about the current stocks of anti-icing materials, how large the fleet of special equipment is and how much the state spends on maintaining roads in winter:

- In winter, the maintenance of republican roads is provided at the expense of the republican budget. These funds were allocated in accordance with the State Program "Roads of Belarus" for 2021-2025. As of December last year, 602 thousand tons of anti-icing materials were prepared, including 289 thousand tons of sand-salt mixture, 134 thousand tons of technical salt, 179 thousand tons of pure salt. Since the beginning of the winter period 2022/23, 164,000 tons of anti-icing materials have been used, of which 89,000 tons are sand-salt mixtures, and 75,000 tons are pure salt. The consumption of these materials depends on weather and climatic conditions. Over the past autumn and winter, 527 thousand tons of anti-icing materials were used, including 346 thousand tons of sand-salt mixture, 180 thousand tons of pure salt.

| Elena NIKOLAEVA, newspaper "7 days", photo by BELTA, author and provided by the traffic police.

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