The number of road accidents involving two-wheeled transport since the start of the motor season in Kyiv has jumped 30% compared to last year, volunteer of the Motohelp public organization Oleksandra Hlotova said at a press conference held at the Kyiv-based Interfax-Ukraine news agency on Monday.
“The number of accidents from the opening of the motorcycle season has increased by 30%. From the beginning of the season, there have been several fatalities and more serious injuries compared to last year. We do not yet know the reason,” she said.
Head of the reception and diagnostic department of the Kyiv Regional Clinical Hospital Yevhen Lapshyn said the number of injured in accidents during the summer increases because of motorcycle mishaps.
“In summer, the number of injured increases due to motorcyclists, cyclists and road accident victims, because everyone is leaving the city,” he said.
Deputy Director General of the Motor Transport Insurance Bureau of Ukraine (MTIBU) Liudmyla Beloshytska said the number of insurance claim fee payments through the bureau increases in winter due to the use of summer tires.
She said if the person responsible for the accident does not have insurance, the MTIBU issues the payment. The maximum amount of payments is UAH 200,000. Payments are made either on confirmation of costs, or in the minimum amount (12-16 minimum wages).
Beloshytska said the number of victims is 10 times higher than the number of persons who received health payments.
According to Managing Partner of the DTP Expert law firm Alexander Keer, collecting information at the scene of the accident is important for receiving insurance payments.
“An important factor is the collection of primary information at the scene of the accident. Our company’s practice shows that the quality of the collection of materials does not always meet the requirements of legislation necessary to identify who is at fault. The main reason for the poor quality of evidence collected is the absence of qualified professionals who can arrive at the scene, that is, lawyers. People usually turn to lawyers at the stage when they fail to receive payment, received an incomplete payment or the court fails to establish who the guilty party is. Mostly people appeal after the term for establishing responsibility (three months for administrative offenses) expires. If a police officer has evaluated the situation incorrectly, reviewing the case could take up to a year,” he said.
According to Keer, the problem is also that people do not know their rights. A person involved in an accident has the right to familiarize himself with materials at the scene and take a picture of the scheme drawn up by law enforcement officers, as well as to make comments and additions to them.
The road service can also be blamed for causing an accident, the expert said.
“A police officer can draw up a protocol not only in relation to the participants in the accident, but also the road holder for the poor condition that led to the accident. We recently had a case last month when the court of appeals decided to acquit the parties and sent materials to the police to draw up a protocol in respect of the road service. Moreover, there is another glaring case: on the Poltava highway, when changing from one lane to another, there is a concrete block painted in red and white stripes. The sign does not comply with traffic rules and because of this there are a lot of accidents. One of these cases was fatal. We filed a lawsuit against the motorway service, because the incorrectly designated order of crossing from one lane to another led to fatal consequences. We are simultaneously conducting two cases, with one involving the prosecution of the driver. As lawyers, we argue that the driver is not guilty, because he did not have the opportunity to avoid the concrete block,” he said.
