Drivers are looking to the president for protection from innovations proposed by the Ministry of Transport. Experts and truckers are outraged by the exorbitant amounts that will have to be paid for damage to the road surface.

Russian truckers ask the president for protection. On Monday, the president of the Association of Carriers of Siberia, Vyacheslav Turnaev, posted an appeal to Dmitry Medvedev on the Internet. He complained about the Ministry of Transport, which restricts traffic on federal roads in the spring.

According to Turnaev, compliance with the instructions will lead to the cessation of the movement of freight vehicles in Russia.

“In order not to violate the requirements of the order of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation, we, carriers, need to stop our enterprises, and send drivers and technical staff on unpaid leave for three months. A reasonable question arises: what business, what sector of the economy can afford such a luxury,” Turnaev noted.

As the head of the truckers' union Valery Voitko notes, similar restrictions are introduced every spring. This is done to protect the road surface on federal highways. However, this year truckers were required not only to drive less, but also to pay for damage to roads, the expert clarifies the essence of the claims.

“They have introduced compensation for damage caused to the road surface by the movement of heavy vehicles. The amounts are simply prohibitive. Let’s just say that the cost of ordering a car from Moscow somewhere in the Volga region averages 37-42 thousand. That’s good. For the fact that the car goes along this route , the estimated damage to the road surface is in the range of 70-85 thousand,” Valery Voitko is indignant.

Municipal management specialist Alexander Zakandyrin notes that there is only one way to save the carrier - by building high-quality roads.

“We need to build normal roads, and not find reasons why they are bad. Either citizens drive on studded tires, you know, not when they need it, then heavy vehicles drive at the wrong time when they need it, then winter suddenly came unexpectedly, then “God forbid, the sun shone in the summer, it became hot and the road melted. Still, it seems to me that we need to steal less and build better roads,” Zakandyrin believes.

Siberian truckers call the spring restrictions of the Ministry of Transport “deliberately corrupt.” The ministry itself has not yet responded to the accusations.

Truckers approached the president