AI to Guard Russia’s Roads
Artificial intelligence is likely to become part of Russia’s road-safety monitoring system, with the Interior Ministry, Transport Ministry and Ministry of Economic Development tasked with developing proposals for its deployment.
Russian authorities plan to use artificial intelligence to prevent traffic accidents and strengthen road-safety oversight. The Interior Ministry, Ministry of Transport and Ministry of Economic Development are expected to submit a report on the initiative to the government by 2028 as part of the national Road Safety Strategy through 2030 and the longer-term planning horizon extending to 2036.
The scale of the challenge underscores the urgency of the initiative. In 2025, Russia recorded 128,000 road accidents that resulted in 13,900 fatalities and 158,000 injuries. AI deployment could improve the identification of high-risk road segments, accelerate incident response and reduce the likelihood of injuries and deaths. The project is also expected to create demand for domestic technologies in computer vision, video analytics and predictive analytics, providing additional momentum for Russia’s IT sector.
From Fines to Prevention
The most significant shift would be the transition from a reactive enforcement model to a predictive one. AI systems could analyze traffic conditions, weather patterns, driver behavior and infrastructure data to identify risks before accidents occur.
Russia already has a foundation for scaling intelligent transport technologies nationwide. By the end of 2025, 32 urban agglomerations had reached at least the first maturity level for intelligent transportation systems (ITS), exceeding the original target of 20 agglomerations. Russia’s Ministry of Transport previously reported that ITS were deployed across 62 urban agglomerations in 2024, while more than RUB 22 billion (about USD 293 million) has been allocated to these efforts since 2020.
The technology could eventually become part of a unified digital platform for the State Traffic Inspectorate, which authorities plan to launch by 2029. Over time, AI could help manage traffic lights, support decisions made by inspectors and road services and forecast dangerous road segments and high-risk periods.
Any export potential is likely to emerge later, after the technology has been fully tested on Russian roads. Once operational models are established, integrated ITS solutions could find demand in EAEU and CIS countries, as well as in the Middle East, Asia and Africa, including adaptive traffic-light systems, traffic-management centers and predictive road-safety platforms.
First Steps Toward “Smart” Roads
The use of AI in road safety is already advancing gradually. Moscow has deployed intelligent traffic cameras that recorded more than 41 million violations in 2025 alone. In 2026, authorities began upgrading photo and video enforcement systems, with new AI-enabled cameras capable of detecting mobile-phone use while driving, vehicles entering sidewalks and other violations.
The video analytics system operated by Moscow’s Traffic Management Center helps rapidly identify accidents and abnormal situations on the MKAD ring road. Real-time alerts are transmitted to the city’s situational center, where dispatchers coordinate emergency-response services.
Regional deployments are also producing measurable results. In the Vladimir region, AI implementation reduced traffic accidents by 10% to 25%, while average traffic speeds increased by 22% to 23%. In Perm Krai, smart traffic lights combined with AI reduced accident rates by 7%. These examples suggest the technology is already delivering practical results and could now be scaled at the federal level.
The Future of Road Safety
The initiative is significant because it marks the first time AI deployment has been formally defined as a separate direction within Russia’s federal road-safety planning framework. By 2028, government agencies are expected to prepare a report outlining possible deployment scenarios, data requirements and pilot regions.
Practical deployment will most likely begin in large urban agglomerations, where traffic cameras, management centers, intelligent transportation systems and sufficiently large data sets are already in place. The key risks involve data quality and interoperability between agencies, personal-data protection, algorithm transparency and legal responsibility for automated recommendations.
If implemented at full scale, AI could become one of the core elements of Russia’s next-generation road-safety model alongside intelligent transportation systems, the State Traffic Inspectorate’s digital platform and advanced video analytics. Even so, the primary objective is expected to remain unchanged: not simply recording violations, but preventing accidents and making roads safer for everyone.
