The authors describe the order of coding road traffic injuries in accordance with the 10th edition of the International Classification of the Disease (ICD-10) at government forensic medical expertise institutions of the Russian Federation. In addition, they analyse the application of the coding rules and the identification of the primary causes of death with a view to obtaining reliable road traffic accident mortality statistics compatible with the respective internationally available data. Special attention is given to the consideration and recommendation of the rules for making forensic medical diagnosis in accordance with the requirements of ICD-10 and its inclusion in the road traffic death certificates. The authors emphasize the importance of compliance with the rules for formulation of medical death certificates and identification of the cause of the fatal outcome for the reliable calculation of such demographically significant characteristic as road traffic accident mortality.