In the first six months of 2024 (from January 1 to July 1), UTS traffic safety inspectors assisted almost 33 thousand drivers on toll roads operated by the company, which is 29% more than in the same period in 2023.
In particular, on M4 Don highway in Tula, Lipetsk, Voronezh and Rostov regions 16,440 people turned to the company's employees, 15,292 people called for help on M11 Neva in Moscow, Tver and Novgorod regions, and 1,070 people – on M3 Ukraine highway in Kaluga region.
The most common reason for calling TSI is the breakdown of the car, it corresponds to 62% of all calls. In second place is the lack of fuel - 15%. In another 7% of cases, TSI went to immobilized vehicles. Most often, the driver either did not know about the TSI service and tried to eliminate the breakdown by himself, stopping at the side of the road, or did not know about special rest areas, so he stopped to rest.
"In this half of the year, we noticed that cars most often broke down on M4 Don road sections, while users ran out of fuel on M11 Neva highway. Also, it is on M11 that most often people stop for no reason on the side of the road, although 52 comfortable and safe rest areas are equipped along the road sections we operate, as well as 17 gas stations, "said Oleg Trofimov, UTS CEO.
Today, stopping on the side of the road is one of the main causes of an accident. According to the internal UTS statistics, another car enters the immobilized vehicle on the road side from behind within 20 minutes, so the traffic safety inspector, having arrived to help, covers the car with his van, if necessary, puts up special cones and signs, enclosing the immobilized vehicle. A ticker on TSI's van displays a warning message to other road users. The traffic safety inspector can also help fix a broken car, change the wheel, provide the first pre-medical or psychological assistance to the driver.
The TSI, on average, arrives on call within 15 minutes, before police, ambulance, emergencies or fire brigades. For emergency call of UTS TSI on high-speed sections of roads, a single short number * 2323 works. The call of service specialists on all roads is free.