Busy Easter on roads leaves at least 40 dead
Thousands of drivers and passengers were struggling back to Athens and other cities yesterday after one of the busiest Easter periods on Greek roads in recent years, during which at least 40 people were killed in car crashes. Traffic was slow heading back into the capital last night as most of the vacationers who had left the city for Easter attempted to return. Traffic police said that almost 32 percent more cars had left Athens and Thessaloniki this Easter than was recorded in recent years, meaning that some 1.35 million vehicles clogged the nation’s roads over the last few days as city dwellers headed for the countryside. The higher number of accidents reflected the increased traffic levels. Officers said 142 accidents occurred between Thursday and Saturday last week, 9.2 percent more than in the same period last year. These resulted in 15 people being killed, 26 suffering serious injury and 180 sustaining light injuries. All these figures are at least 15 percent higher than in 2005. During the whole of Holy Week, 40 people died in car accidents, police said. Although more cars were on the national roads than usual this Easter, traffic police said that a substantial number of the accidents took place in cities. Officers said that lighter-than-normal traffic in Athens and Thessaloniki tempted many drivers to speed and drive dangerously. Two people were killed yesterday morning on the Athens-Sounion inland road in Markopoulo, east of Athens, when a car slammed into an electricity pole, officers said. Traffic police tend to crack down on drunk driving during Easter and officers said that more than 12,000 drivers had been tested between Thursday and Saturday last week – with 327 over the legal limit.
