Medvedev criticized the work of driving schools

The work of Russian driving schools was criticized by President Dmitry Medvedev. According to him, there are no qualified instructors in driving schools, exams are taken formally, and drivers do not receive proper skills, RIA Novosti reports.

"In driving schools today there is practically no responsibility for the behavior of their graduates on the roads. There is neither a modern material and technical base, nor qualified instructors," Medvedev said. "Yes, and rights, we know how they are given after these driving schools. All around - bribes," he added.

According to Medvedev, it is not surprising that more than a third of accidents are committed by drivers who have recently received a license, although it would seem that they should be especially careful on the roads.

The President announced that he intends to convene the State Council Presidium on Road Safety. He instructed to prepare specific proposals, and the commissions under the government to ensure road safety - to take these issues under control. "We will have to take a number of tough decisions, radical ones, if you like, in some areas," Medvedev said.

The economic damage from accidents, he said, is comparable to health care costs. "Over the past five years, the cumulative losses of the country's economy from road accidents amounted to 5.5 trillion rubles. This is comparable to all health care spending over the same period," Medvedev said.

Recently, there have been several car accidents on Russian roads at once with a large number of human casualties. According to the traffic police, only for six months of 2009, about 2 thousand accidents were recorded on the country's highways due to violation of the rules by bus drivers. In these accidents, 133 people died and more than 3,000 were injured.