The Tashkent city people's deputies council at the 71st session on Monday unanimously approved reducing the speed of vehicles on all streets within the Small Ring Road from 70 to 60 km/h, and in some sections of a number of central streets - up to 50 km/h.

Less than a month ago, some deputies strongly opposed the reduction in speed, saying that 70 km/h is already low and expressing doubts about the effectiveness of this measure. Consideration of the issue was deferred until the next session. The public has subjected speeches of deputies to the sharp criticism. On the eve of the new session, a specially created commission, which included representatives of the city traffic police, studied the situation on the streets and prepared new proposals.

Speaking at the session, Rafikjon Jalilov, head of the traffic police department of the Tashkent Police Department, said that in the first nine months of this year, 756 traffic accidents occurred in Tashkent, in which 98 people died and 905 were injured.

The reason for most of the accidents was speeding - 46.2%. Pedestrians faults- 21% of accidents, 14% for violating traffic rules at intersections, 12.5% ​​for ignoring traffic lights, and 5% for drunkenness, he said.

As Rafikjon Jalilov noted, the findings of the special commission showed the feasibility of reducing the speed to 60 km/h on all streets inside the Small Ring Road.

“Because within this territory, many institutions and organizations are concentrated, and the movement of vehicles and pedestrians has increased,” he said.

“In addition, on a number of streets where the flow of vehicles and pedestrians is especially high, it is important to reduce the speed to 50 km/h,” the head of the traffic police continued. These are the following sections of streets:

• street around Amir Temur square;
• Alisher Navoi str. - between Sharaf Rashidov and Labzak streets;
• Makhtumkuli street - between Mirzo Ulugbek and Yahyo Gulyamov streets;
• Amir Temur street - between Alisher Navoi Avenue and the Small Ring Road;
• Small ring - between Bunyodkor and Katartal streets;
• Islam Karimov street - between Sharaf Rashidov and Ankhor Buyi streets;
• Taras Shevchenko street - between Islam Karimov and Nukus streets;
• Babur and Furqat street - between Shota Rustaveli and Islam Karimov streets.

The proposals to reduce the speed in the capital were developed on the basis of studying the experience of foreign countries, “where it was thanks to the reduction in the permitted speed that the number of accidents was reduced,” Rafikjon Jalilov emphasized.

He clarified that in European countries - Germany, France, Finland, Austria, Great Britain, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Greece, Ireland and others, the maximum speed limit in populated areas is at 50 km/h.

“Dear deputies, taking into account the above, I ask you to approve, as a first stage, the reduction in the speed of vehicles on all streets within the Small Ring Road to 60 km/h, and on certain streets to 50 km/h,” the head of the traffic police urged.