Inquiry concerning traffic management on national roads (No. 608)
Session: Fifteenth Riigikogu, third session, plenary session
Date: 2024-04-15 19:16
Participating Politicians:
Total Speeches: 35
Membership: 15
Agenda Duration: 34m
AI Summaries: 35/35 Speeches (100.0%)
Analysis: Structured Analysis
Politicians Speaking Time
Politicians
Analysis
Summary
The fifth agenda item concerned the inquiry submitted on February 14 by Riigikogu members Kert Kingo, Martin Helme, Siim Pohlak, Jaak Valge, Ants Frosch, Varro Vooglaid, Alar Laneman, Arvo Aller, Leo Kunnas, Rene Kokk, and Henn Põlluaas regarding traffic management on national roads. We first attempted to frame a procedural question when issues clearly arose during the session concerning the correctness of the role of the Riigikogu Board or the Minister, and what the dialogue between the Riigikogu and the government should entail. The discussion then moved to substantive issues, where they debated the installation of center barrier marker posts, tunnel effects and their impact on traffic safety, possibilities for turning off [the road], ensuring uniform and smooth traffic flow on all road sections, and the challenges arising particularly with slow-moving and heavy-load traffic. The last part mainly concerned the implementation of the “Zero Vision” traffic safety program 2016–2025 and the role of center barriers and road-edge marker posts in demonstration sections and their long-term impact on the organization of main road sections. Finally, a critically cautious approach was taken, emphasizing that flexible posts and center barrier solutions must not replace the main goals of improving traffic safety, and that both the state and the private sector must collectively ensure safe and smooth traffic, even in difficult situations.
Decisions Made 1
No political decisions were made concerning this agenda item; the discussion will continue, and the subsequent steps will be outlined in later agreements or separate procedures.
Most Active Speaker
Speaker: Kert Kingo (Riigikogu member). Position: other. She was the most active speaker on this agenda item, representing a substantive proposal and directing the discussion primarily toward issues of traffic management and safety on national roads.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar introduces the fifth item on the agenda, which is the discussion of the interpellation submitted on February 14 concerning traffic management on national roads. He then calls upon Kert Kingo, the presenter of the query, but a procedural question arises, and Kingo is put on hold while Helle-Moonika Helme raises a question regarding the procedure for conducting the session.
Helle-Moonika Helme
Profiling Eesti Konservatiivse Rahvaerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Helle-Moonika Helme raises a procedural question concerning the relationship between the Riigikogu and the Government: whether the Riigikogu is the minister's employer or if the hierarchy is the reverse, and whether the minister's statements directed at members of the Riigikogu are procedurally suitable.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar emphasized the importance of mutual respect during the session and posed a question to Anti Poolamets concerning the procedure for conducting the sitting.
Anti Poolamets
Profiling Eesti Konservatiivse Rahvaerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Anti Poolamets submits an interpellation regarding national defense, criticizes the minister’s style, and claims that the party has fought against national defense for ten years and for the abolition of compulsory military service, and asks why facts are being ignored and the topic is being evaded.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The inquiry addressed the traffic situation in Estonia and did not concern the topic mentioned, and Arvo Aller raised a question regarding the procedure for conducting the session.
Arvo Aller
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Arvo Aller claims that the minister emphasized increasing national defense funding and their role as champions for national defense, but Anti Poolamets said that this cannot be considered factually accurate, and it was the Reform Party that fought for the abolition of compulsory military service.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The Presiding Officer notes that he did not intervene in the discussion and moves on to the fifth item on the agenda, which is the query submitted on February 14 concerning the traffic management of national roads. Kert Kingo is invited to take the floor as the presenter.
Kert Kingo
AI Summary
Kert Kingo criticizes the installation of the median barrier marker posts and raises several specific questions regarding their safety, traffic flow, and the operation of various road users (animals, agricultural machinery, road construction machinery, and trucks), emphasizing that the current system creates unsafe conditions, and he demands appropriate answers, not excuses.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar requested that the Riigikogu speaker's stand be returned to Climate Minister Kristen Michal so that he could answer the interpellation.
Kliimaminister Kristen Michal
AI Summary
The presentation confirms that the use of median barriers on road sections, along with flexible barrier posts, improves safety, facilitates special operations, and ensures smooth traffic flow. However, based on the Vision Zero principle, human errors must be minimized, and at high speeds, steel or cable barriers should be prioritized, as flexible posts do not guarantee the prevention of head-on collisions.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar thanks the esteemed Minister and says that there are several questions, the first of which is Martin Helme.
Martin Helme
Profiling Eesti Konservatiivse Rahvaerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Martin Helme raised two questions, divided into two parts: first, whether the Riigikogu inquiry had been answered timely and who was to blame—the minister or the board—and second, he criticized the high price of the plastic posts and discussed whether it wouldn't be more reasonable for the state to invest in a four-lane road.
Kliimaminister Kristen Michal
AI Summary
Climate Minister Kristen Michal said that answers might be delayed due to the large number of inquiries, but stressed the core point: there are very few road sections in Estonia that use vertical delineators (about 11–11.3 km of the national road network). He noted that these markings are necessary, practical traffic management tools that experts utilize to save human lives, and are not the main issue in road construction.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar calls upon Kert Kingo to speak.
Kert Kingo
AI Summary
Kert Kingo is criticizing the cabinet’s plan to install posts along the entire 11-kilometer stretch of road. She argues that this is absurd and the safety justification is questionable, especially considering the Lähte rescue station is located 11 kilometers from the Tartu city border. She points out that the posts placed on those three road sections restrict the movement of the rescue service, and she questions how this measure is actually supposed to help emergency vehicles move.
Kliimaminister Kristen Michal
AI Summary
Kristen Michal stated that the figures originated from the Transport Administration, and he would verify them and report any inaccuracies. Furthermore, he requested that the Transport Administration speak with the Lähte rescue team regarding their claim that they cannot pass, and he will also discuss the nature of the road dividers—whether they are plastic or flexible—to avoid delays for rescue crews during serious traffic accidents.
Arvo Aller
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Arvo Aller pointed out that the roadside areas located between the two lanes—colloquially referred to as "pacifiers"—and the resulting queues create significant traffic difficulties. He cited the Haljala–Aaspere section and the four-kilometer queue that formed when driving toward Narva as prime examples, and asked when the state plans to construct a 2+2 (four-lane divided) highway for this 11.3-kilometer segment.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The Chairman thanks everyone and invites Arvo Aller to speak.
Kliimaminister Kristen Michal
AI Summary
Climate Minister Kristen Michal said that a large part of Estonia's primary road network will be built as 2+2 roads, with some sections being 2+1, ensuring this is done cost-effectively and in accordance with the conditions for funding, planning, and construction capacity.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar invites Helle-Moonika Helme to speak.
Helle-Moonika Helme
Profiling Eesti Konservatiivse Rahvaerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Helle-Moonika Helme criticized the opposing side for their pedantry and their preoccupation with installing infrastructure between posts, emphasizing that the most severe accidents happen during head-on overtaking. She argued that the state should instead build four-lane roads, for which the plans and financing are already available.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
This is a short, direct appeal: your time has come.
Helle-Moonika Helme
Profiling Eesti Konservatiivse Rahvaerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
He stresses that we must not claim that we know nothing about the matter.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar makes a request to the minister.
Kliimaminister Kristen Michal
AI Summary
Climate Minister Kristen Michal thanked [them] for the correction regarding the 'ä' umlauts and explained that in road construction, the configuration is not 4+4, but rather 2+2 or 2+1.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar thanks [the previous speaker] and invites Rain Epler.
Rain Epler
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Rain Epler recommended organizing a regular cross-agency audit of the Transport Administration's activities, involving either a deputy secretary-general or a department head, and tracking the performance of major reconstructions and upgrades over a period of time.
Kliimaminister Kristen Michal
AI Summary
Kristen Michal stated that communication between the parties is fluid, the debate is open, and they are jointly finding solutions regarding issues concerning both the movement of agricultural machinery and other restrictions. Furthermore, if a restriction impedes an emergency vehicle, the Transport Administration must be notified, and they will review the situation.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar thanks the respected Minister, announces that there are no further questions, opens the debate, and invites Mart Helme to the Riigikogu rostrum as the first speaker.
Mart Helme
Profiling Eesti Konservatiivse Rahvaerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Mart Helme claims that Estonia is in decline and that the government and the Ministry of Climate are leading the country toward catastrophe. He points to poor road construction, unstable energy policy, and corruption, predicting that within the next three years, Estonia will become the poorest country, resulting in emigration.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar asks if additional time is wanted.
Mart Helme
Profiling Eesti Konservatiivse Rahvaerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
He concludes by saying that the country with the best starting position has fallen into the mud league, and thanks the Ministry of Climate, Stenbock House, and the Election Service for putting together their corrupt schemes.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The list of speakers has been concluded, and Mr. Minister is invited to take the floor.
Kliimaminister Kristen Michal
AI Summary
Climate Minister Kristen Michal confirmed that although the office is young, road funding will be increased (with 37 million more allocated for road maintenance in the RES). He promised to seek additional funding and noted that military mobility measures will be added in the future. Furthermore, he remarked that flexible vertical markers on roads are not the beginning of the decline of democracy, and that it is always possible to contact the Transport Administration when submitting traffic safety proposals.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar expresses his thanks, closes the debate, and concludes the consideration of the fifth agenda item, confirming that all items on today's agenda have been addressed.