In order to reduce congestion in large cities caused by minor traffic accidents, Seimas will consider a proposal to oblige drivers involved in a traffic accident, if there is an agreement on the culprit, to clear the roadway as soon as possible and only then fill out an accident declaration.
102 members of the Seimas voted in favor of the amendments to the Road Traffic Safety Law submitted by Tomas Tomilinas, a member of the Democratic Party "For Lithuania", on Thursday after the submission, with no opposition, and 9 abstentions. The draft will be considered by the Seimas' Law and Order Committee. It is expected to appear again in the plenary session on April 29.
According to T. Tomilinas, when the culprit of a car accident is clear, it would be logical to fill out the documents related to the incident without disturbing other road users and without creating traffic jams.
According to the author of the project, a solution is also proposed for minor technical traffic accidents in which no one was killed or injured, but drivers disagree about the circumstances of the incident.
If the Seimas approves, in certain sections filmed by traffic cameras and specially marked, even in the event of disagreement over the driver's fault, it would be mandatory to pull over cars and then wait for the police to arrive.
"This would be a revolutionary change, because a solution would be found for cases where the culprit of a car accident is not clear," said T. Tomilinas, presenting the project from the Seimas rostrum.
According to him, modern technologies allow for quick and convenient recording of the scene of an incident in photographs and video footage, and once drivers have done so, they could fill out documents related to the incident while pulling their cars over so that they do not obstruct traffic. Such behavior would not be considered leaving the scene of the incident.
T. Tomilinas hopes that the proposed project will at least partially solve the congestion problems, because if an accident occurs and a car is not towed from the road, the entire city suffers losses.
The currently valid Road Traffic Safety Law does not oblige drivers to clear a stretch of road where a traffic accident has occurred and is causing a traffic jam as soon as possible.
According to the Road Traffic Regulations (KET), if no one was killed or injured in the traffic accident, there is agreement on its circumstances, no appeal is made police, then it is mandatory to draw a diagram of the incident in the traffic accident declaration, describe the circumstances of the incident, and have all participants in the accident sign it.
Jadvyga Bieliavska (ELTA)
