Every year, 1.3 million people worldwide die as a result of traffic accidents, one person every 24 seconds (UN General Assembly / 24.06.2022).

Armenia ranks second among the 33 countries of the European Union and the Eastern Neighborhood in terms of the number of victims of road accidents. This is evidenced by one of the latest reports of the World Bank.

Iravaban.net applied to the RA Police with a written request and received the number of traffic accidents (traffic accidents) registered in RA in the years 2017-2022 (9 months), the number of citizens who died as a result of them, as well as the most frequently recorded causes of accidents..

It is noteworthy that the reduction in the number of incidents in 2020 was related to the restrictions imposed in the city due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The number of victims has also increased. If in 2017 there were 279 victims of road accidents, then in 2021 we already had 368 victims.

Thus it was registered:

• In 2017 – 279 victims, 3535 accidents,
• In 2018 – 343 victims, 4111 accidents,
• In 2019 – 341 victims, 4799 accidents,
• In 2020 – 348 victims, 4016 accidents,
• In 2021 – 368 victims, 4604 accidents,
• 2022:09:30 – 219 victims, 3064 accidents.

The most common causes of accidents are speeding, followed by violations of the rules of crossing the intersection and rearranging the rows. Violations of the traffic rules by pedestrians are also a significant number.

Despite the decrease in the number of accidents caused by the pandemic, the number of victims as a result of them increased both in 2020 and 2021. Number of deaths as a result of road accidents:

• 2017 – 111 drivers, 83 passengers, 85 pedestrians,
• 2018 – 121 drivers, 111 passengers, 111 pedestrians,
• 2019 – 138 drivers, 85 passengers, 116 pedestrians,
• 2020 – 149 drivers, 110 passengers, 87 pedestrians,
• In 2021 – 157 drivers, 94 passengers, 117 pedestrians,
• 2022:09:30 – 69 drivers, 38 passengers, 29 pedestrians.

Lusine Gevorgyan, a member of Yerevan Municipality, mentioned in an interview with Iravaban.net that such numbers of traffic accidents and victims as a result of them are related not only with the driving culture, but also with the educational censure, which has decreased even more in recent years.

“As a driver, I face these problems every day. Recently, a thought has been running through my head; both drivers and pedestrians have lost the

Lusine Gevorgyan, Member of Yerevan Council of Elders

instinct of self-defense. The latter prefer to pass through undefined places when there is a pedestrian crossing a few meters away,” she notes.

According to Gevorgyan, the traffic situation has worsened since the spring, when the population of the capital increased due to the arrival of a large number of Russian citizens. “Traffic jams are caused not only by the accumulation of cars, but also as a result of constantly occurring road traffic accidents (CMPTPLI related accidents).”

From 10 April, changes were made in the questionnaires of the theory test of the driver’s license in RA, over 500 additions totaling to 1116 questions. A year ago, there were 10 questions in the theoretical exam paper. In January 2021, the Road Police made a change, adding 10 more questions. The examinee passes the practical exam stage in case he/she answers 18 questions.

The Road Police stated that there is only one reason for changing the questionnaire: so that the citizen does not memorize and mechanically answer the traffic rules correctly without understanding them.

According to Lusine Gevorgyan, the results of the mentioned changes will be seen after years. Currently the drivers who got their driver’s license years ago are driving on the roads, and it is no secret that some of them got their licenses even without passing an exam.

Recently, the General Prosecutor’s Office reported that the theoretical and practical exams for obtaining a driver’s license are not properly controlled. On 19 October, 2022, the Anti-Corruption Court issued a verdict guilty against 28 people for illegally obtaining driver’s licenses for bribes.

“We have people on the roads with certificates bought with money, and today the results have appeared on the streets, and we are reaping their fruits. A new generation of drivers is coming, which passes the exams according to a strict procedure. I fully hope that in a few years the changes on the roads will be significant,” the member of the Council of Elders noted.

At the same time, Gevorgyan noted that the increase in fines will in no way affect the discipline of drivers. According to her, the relevant departments of the Road Police and Yerevan Municipality should install additional video recording devices, and the patrols should be stricter with the drivers who commit violations.

“There is no need to increase the fines, but there is no need to give up video recording devices either. In 2018, a decision was made to turn off video cameras for one month. It was left to the conscience and judgment of the drivers to follow the rules. The news spread quickly and a chaotic situation prevailed in the city. We understood that it is not advisable to turn off the devices and today’s driver cannot follow the rules while driving without supervision,” Lusine Gevorgyan said.

She also considers the number of accidents involving children under the age of 16 to be worrying. In this case, adults are responsible for it. “I don’t understand those parents who entrust their children’s lives to metal. People who entrust their child to drive a car without a driver’s license or education can at least be called irresponsible.”

The number of accidents involving children under the age of 16 has also increased.  438 accidents (14 victims) were registered in 2017; 469 accidents (21 victims) in 2018; 521 accidents (10 victims) in 2019; 399 accidents (13 victims) in 2020: 520 Accidents (19 victims) in 2021: and 232 accidents (8 victims)in the first half of 2022.

Let’s add that after receiving the statistical data from the Police, two more major accidents took place. On 25 October, on the Oshakan-Ashtarak road, a “Mercedes” car left the traffic lane and crashed into an electric pole. The 16-year-old driver and 2 passengers of 16 and one of 17-year-old died.

On 3 November, an accident occurred on the Armavir-Metsamor highway. On the 4th km of the Armavir-Yerevan highway, the “GAZEL” minibus serving the Yerevan-Armavir-Karakert route No. 232 and the “ZIL” truck collided.

As a result of the accident, 4 citizens died, one of them a minor, and 7 citizens were injured.

Thus, in 2017-2022 until 1 October, 1,557 people died and 34,884 were injured as a result of traffic accidents.

The total number of accidents was 24,129.