Steep increase in road deaths
The rash of roadworks under way throughout the capital, in combination with shoddy existing roads and incorrigibly bad driving, have led to a steep rise in road deaths this month, traffic police said yesterday. From May 1 to 18, 29 people were killed on the roads of Attica, compared to 22 last May, Attica’s traffic police chief, Panayiotis Adamidis, told Kathimerini. «And the month is not yet out,» he added. Adamidis linked the problem with badly built roads and roadworks being carried out ahead of the August Olympics. «One must admit that Attica’s road network is in pretty awful shape in many parts,» he said. «The tarmac is of poor quality, there are lots of bumps and works are under way in many places at the same time. But while the average driver sees the warning signs, knows that the road quality is poor and the lighting is insufficient at night… he continues to behave as if the roads were all right.» Adamidis said police were now focusing on stopping red-light breaches, which he said were responsible for the last four deaths.
