Technical
Sciences. Traffic
A. V. Stepanov
Kharkiv National Automobile and Highway
University, Ukraine
Transport
safety in the system of transport
strategy of
Ukraine
Transport
is one of the basic sectors of economy. Its effective functioning is a prerequisite
for guaranteeing defense capacity and protection of economic interests of the
state, for raising the standard of living of the population.
In
this regard as recently as 2010 the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved
Transport Strategy of Ukraine for the period before 2020. The Strategy aims to
determine conceptual bases of forming and implementing state policy for
providing stable, safe and effective functioning of transport sector, to create
environment for social and economic development of the country and for
improvement of competitiveness of national economy and of standard of living of
the population.
The
Strategy is based on the following principles: providing the availability of
transport services for all the strata of the population, in particular for
people with disabilities and for low-income citizens; coordination of plans for
development of transport infrastructure with the general scheme of the
territory planning of Ukraine and with land-use plans; carrying out a rigid
anti-monopoly policy; liberalization of pricing in transport service market;
operation of transport enterprises on the basis of self-sufficiency;
concentration of the financial resources on satisfying the main objectives of
the transport sector development; compensation of costs for transportation of
the privileged categories of citizens from the state and local budgets;
guarantying environmental safety, keeping with environmental standards and
regulations when carrying out activities in the transport field; encouragement of
development of energy-saving and environmentally friendly modes of transport.
In
general, nowadays, transport sector meets the needs of national economy and
population in transportation, although the transport safety level and, in
particular the motor-transport safety level, coefficient of quality and
efficiency of passenger and cargo traffic, energy efficiency and technogenic
impact on the environment do not meet modern standards.
It
should be mentioned that motor-transport is a branch of transport sector that
is to satisfy the needs of the population and social production in passenger
and cargo transportation by motor-vehicles. Motor transport sector includes
road transport enterprises carrying out transportation of passengers and
cargoes, motor vehicle and tire repair services, vehicles, freight forwarding
companies, and also bus stations and auto-stations, schools, repair and
construction organizations, social and welfare institutions, and other
enterprises, establishments and organizations of any form of ownership that
support motor-transport functioning. The bases of motor-transport organization
and maintenance are determined in the Law of Ukraine «On motor-transport».
Systematic
character of the concept of transport safety determines the necessity of the
complex, systemic solutions available in this field. Transport safety aims to
protect passengers, cargo owners, recipients and transporters, vehicle owners
and users, transport complex and its employees, budget and economy of the
country and environment against threats in transport complex.
Under
the Strategy implementation, the transport safety includes: delineation of
national interests in transport field, detection of the factors that threaten
those interests, formation of a system to counteract negative factors and
threats in this field, definition of a set of measures that can improve the
level of transport safety, and to conform it to international standards. In the
most general form, the term "transport safety" can be defined as a system
of warning, counteraction and preclusion of crimes, including terrorism in
transport sector; system of prevention of natural and man-made disasters in
transport; system of prevention or minimization of monetary and mental damage
from crimes and accidents in transport; system aimed at improving the
environmental safety of transportations, environmental sustainability of
transport system; system of realization of the objectives of national security
in the entire transport sector.
Transport
complex includes the entire transport infrastructure, and also all the other
objects that provide operation of transport complex such as buildings, devices
and equipment.
Transport
infrastructure belongs to the most critical objects in range and level of
possible threats according to the following criteria: increasing number of
dangerous cargo transportations (nuclear weapon, petroleum, hazardous chemical
substances, radioactive materials, nuclear waste) to a disposal area; highly
battered and wrecking objects of transport complex; growth of traffic intensity
along with the development of national economy, the development of new
territories, the arrangement of functioning of international transport
corridors; growth of road traffic accidents number, that is one of the most
serious social and economic problems; fact of enhancement of the methods and
manners of illegal activities of criminal groups, especially of terrorist
organizations towards transport sector, reinforcement of the dangerous tendency
of co-operation and coordination of their activities at federal and
international levels.
It
is necessary to mention the factors affecting the level of transport safety.
These factors are: technical failures (of constructive character); accidents at
infrastructure objects; insufficient level of qualification and personnel
faults; explosions, fires, floods, submersions, earthquakes, typhoons, tsunamis
and other similar phenomena; breakdowns in systems of communication and in
traffic management systems; inadequate organization of traffic safety;
insufficient level of overall protection during cargo and passengers
transportation; terrorism, banditry, ruffianism, stealing, etc.
Transport
safekeeping includes: timely prediction and detection of external and internal
threats to transport safety; implementation of urgent and long-term measures to
prevent and neutralize internal and external threats to transport safety;
execution of measures aimed at prevention or minimization of monetary and moral
damage caused by crimes and accidents in transport; inventory of international
requirements for transport safekeeping, and in respect to these requirements,
development and implementation of a set of arrangements aimed at improvement of
the transport safety level, at conforming it to international standards of
safety in transport.
Meanwhile,
the acting state system of measures to ensure transport safety, the applied
protective methods, techniques and means for citizens and environment in case
of emergencies in transport are not adequate enough against the existing and
the potential threats.
In
order to improve traffic safety, the Strategy implementation will allow to
modernize the transport system and to improve the efficiency of its
functioning; to satisfy the needs of the national economy and the population in
transportation and to improve the quality and the availability of transport
services; to ensure timely delivery of cargoes; to refine the system of the
transport sector management; to increase the capacity of the transport network;
to reduce the amount of harmful emissions into the atmosphere; to speed up
integration of the national transport system into the European and global
transport systems, to make the most of the transit potential of the country.
References:
1.
Закон України «Про автомобільний транспорт» від 5 квітня 2001 р. // Офіційний вісник України. – 2001. – №17. – С.50.
2. Указ Президента України «Про
Положення про Державну інспекцію України з безпеки на наземному транспорті, із
змінами, внесеними згідно з Указом Президента N 506/2013 від 11.09.2013.
3. Розпорядження Кабінету Міністрів України від 20 жовтня 2010 року № 2174 р. «Про схвалення Транспортної стратегії України на період до 2020 року».