Kolyma achieves 15-year low in road accidents with bold safety reforms
MAGADAN, March 30 – A meeting of the Public Council was held at the Russian Interior Ministry's Main Directorate for Magadan Oblast, with road safety in the Kolyma region—including the prevention of child traffic injuries—topping the agenda. Police officers and civic activists discussed joint initiatives, the regional traffic police reported.
Colonel Sergei Shaklein, head of the traffic police directorate, noted that last year saw a reduction in the number of accidents involving injuries, as well as fewer road crash casualties, with fatalities dropping by a third. He warned that warmer weather traditionally brings a surge in underage motorbike riding. The police colonel urged adults to report unlicensed young riders and proposed transferring confiscated and unreturned motorbikes from minors into state ownership.
Commenting on the road situation, Major General Dmitry Knyazev, head of the regional Interior Ministry directorate, emphasized that 2025 marks the lowest traffic risk in Kolyma in 15 years. "Thanks to the Uragan [Hurricane] speed enforcement systems, we have eliminated a major accident hotspot on the federal Kolyma Highway. Working alongside the regional government, we are steadily making Magadan's roads the safest in the country. Another step forward is the introduction of glow-in-the-dark road markings on key sections of the street network. This innovative system—especially useful at night and in poor weather—will soon be implemented in Kolyma," the general added.
During the meeting, civic activists also addressed preventive work with young people. Roman Korsun, chairman of the Public Council, introduced Yulia Malkova, director of the Yunost (Youth) Children and Youth Center.
Malkova explained that in 2018, the center established a youth traffic inspector squad, which has since launched numerous projects, including themed competitions and workshops. Using the mobile Safety Lab unit, educators conduct lessons with children across nearly all districts of Kolyma.
Vladislav Kleptsov, a methodologist at Yunost and a former long-serving traffic police officer, proposed developing a system for promptly reporting underage motorbike use to law enforcement.
