Opinion (Rogério COPETO / Official GNR): ROADS THAT KILL.
When the last Monday, to Antiga IN 255, the section between Borba and Vila Viçosa, He collapsed and caused the death 2 people and 3 missing, I had written this article and the title that now boasts, so now the title is more than adequate.
Rogério COPETO
Lieutenant Colonel of the GNR
Master in Law and Security and Homeland Security Auditor
Head of the Education Division / Command Doctrine and Training
This article was written by reason of the increase in deaths as a result of road accidents in the years 2017 and 2018, then from 2010 and 2016 mortal victims 30 days, as a result of road accidents, had decreased consecutively, of 937 to 583, managed to achieve 58 the fatalities 30 days, per million inhabitants.
Despite this reduction to 2016, there was still much to do at the time, to achieve the target set in "National Road Safety Strategic Plan – THOUGHT 2020", of 41 killed per million inhabitants, at the end of its term, whose scenario was worsened by the increase in deaths recorded in the year 2017, ending with 602 the fatalities 30 days, according to the latest data of the National Road Safety Authority (Mor).
And all it takes to want that the year 2018 end with more fatalities from those in 2017, according to the News Journal realized in its article 5 November, with the title "More accidents and more deaths on Portuguese roads this year", noting that between day 1 January and 31 October died on Portuguese roads 422 people, more 2 than in the same period 2017, according to the latest report Mor, It is the Setúbal district where there have been more deaths, with 61 dead, followed by the port with 46, Lisbon with 42 and Leiria 36.
However, Alentejo with 142 killed in 2016, is the region of the country with the highest incidence of deaths per million inhabitants in Portugal, as constituting the second region of the European Union (EU), more dead, second data 2016 Eurostat reported hair, as mentioned by Dario News, of 9 November in his article entitled "Alentejo is the second EU country with more road deaths per capita".
As can be seen, the panorama of serious road accidents in Portugal, it is severe, forgive me redundancy, and it's not just the roads that people die, because they occur more accidents with casualties on city streets, than on the roads, according to the Express article 18 November, with the title "Road deaths. Portugal has "three decades of delay compared to northern European countries", Government says", which state "the evolution of road accidents in the Portuguese locations has had a slower decrease and that said, in 2017, 77% accidents with casualties were recorded in the localities".
In places there that are pedestrian accidents that cause more victims and that they have increased in recent years, as made known to us the SIC NotÃcias piece, of 18 November, entitled "Roadkill leaking the highest since 2010", where it is stated that "only 2017 They were recorded over 400 run over with escape and failure of assistance in Portugal. Data from the National Road Safety Authority show that the number of pedestrian accidents in the past year is the highest in the last 8 year old. Excessive speed remains the main cause of this type of accident".
On pedestrian accidents and flight, We remember our article with the title "Hit and run: The perfect crime?", of 8 February 2017, which we mentioned that according to GNR data were to be identified 12 conductor 22 occurring between pedestrians 2015 and 2016, achieving GNR "identify the driver in 45% of roadkill leaking, It is a very high rate, whatever crime, increased severity when it comes to serious crimes, such as murder and the help of omission".
A different approach to the problem, It was made by the magazine Saturday, which in its Article, of 18 November, with the title "Road accidents take 1,2% AO START", states that "Secretary of State for Civil Protection said that the negative impact, economic and social road accidents in Portugal is 2,3 billion".
The road accidents, in addition to causing enormous damage to our economy is also a public health problem, as we had occasion to mention in our article, of 9 May 2018, with the title "Road accident: A Public Health Problem", where we echo the words of the Director General of the World Health Organization, Drª Margaret Chan em 2015: "The objective of saving 50% the dead and injured as a result of road accidents by 2020 It allows governments, organizations and the international community to concentrate efforts, Now the challenge being to take this opportunity that arises you, changing the current situation of road deaths in a measurable decrease".
Yet by reason of the "World Day in memory of road accident victims", which was marked on Sunday, O "President made civic appeal and asks bet in preventing road accidents", as the Public Account, in its edition of 18 November, having said President of the Republic "that accidents on the road are 'national concern', which should reflect a commitment to prevention, in education and signage", a message in the President's page, which also recalls that "latest data revealed the unfortunate reversal of the downward trend, from 2010, of road accidents and fatalities".
As mentioned above the mortal victims 30 days increased in the year 2017 and everything indicates that this year 2018, It will also end with an increase of the dead 30 days, concluding that 102 measures advocated in "THINK 2020" are not succeeding, contribute to achieving in 2020, as 42 fatalities, a 30 days, per million inhabitants, getting in late 2018 missing two years, to achieve this aim.
It takes very little time to reverse a trend that has been growing for two consecutive years, after declining between 2010 and 2016, so the appeal of the President of the Republic makes sense, We should be focusing on "prevention, in education and signage", and for us to focus on "Road Education" essential in reducing serious accidents, as we had occasion to point out in our article "Road Safety", of 5 May 2015, where we refer to "the focus on 'Road Education' still makes sense, for the training of citizens, to develop a set of skills while passengers, pedestrians and drivers, promoting their safe integration in the road environment, knowing that influence behavior of each of the other conditions and, Depending on the well-being of all".
But before the Monday events in EN 255, we found that was not the lack of "Road Education", which killed two people and three missing, It has been the lack of anything else, which today still can not explain, so it remains to lament these deaths more, joining other 422 and that at the end of the year may be over 600 the fatalities 30 days, as a result of the roads that kill.
