OPINION

Chaos on the roads

The sight of Corinth-bound traffic on the Athens-Lamia National Road early last Saturday morning and of return traffic in the early afternoon was real testimony to a powerful, reformist and law-abiding Greece. Greece, president of the European Union, was displaying – in all its majesty – its policy for protecting the lives of its citizens: Trucks and lorries conspire to block the exits and entrances to the capital; traveling at excessive speeds, they are a menace to other drivers. I also saw a truck transporting large metal sheets which had been tied down with nothing more than belts – similar ones, I imagine, to those used on the truck which caused the fatal accident at Tempe. Now, if I remember rightly, after this terrible tragedy, there were investigations and interrogations, and much was said about the responsibilities of the driver and some other «employees» of some transport firm or other… So much for that! If tomorrow, God forbid, we experience a similar tragedy, let no one dare to blame just one driver. The competent state services (and they are hardly faceless) cannot plead indifference. In fact, they are responsible for whatever happens on the roads. This is not to say that there are not many truckdrivers who drive with dangerous cockiness, mobile phone in hand, sometimes under the influence of alcohol. However, the indifference of these government services to providing a simple presence, conducting simple tests, constitutes an affront without parallel.

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