From www.the-news.net - Portugal

11/09/1999 - Official: Portugal is a road death trap

A total of 2.425 people died on Portuguese roads during 1998, translating into a figure of 24 deaths for every one hundred thousand inhabitants. A list, published in The Economist, which studied statistics of the 27 most notorious countries in the world awarded Portugal with a considerable victory margin, making Portugal the undisputed road death champion of the world.

The results of a study effected by the OCDE (currently available on the internet) has awarded Portugal with the damning title of being the country with the most dangerous driving conditions in the western world. A number of 24 deaths for every one hundred thousand inhabitants, beating the former leaders South Korea who had a number superior to 20 deaths for every one hundred thousand inhabitants. Greece were in third, also with numbers exceeding 20. Poland, the eastern European country with the most deaths, were in fourth position. In fifth, were the drivers of the United States, though the excessive number of vehicles per family in the United States, explained as the reason for the U.S. obtaining a number of almost 16 deaths for every of its one hundred thousand inhabitants.

With figures ranging between ten and 15 deaths were, in that respective order, France, Spain, Hungary, New Zealand, the Czech Republic, Belgium, Ireland, Austria and Italy. Sweden was the safest country on the list, which still includes, Turkey, Iceland, Australia, Germany, Canada, Denmark, Japan, Switzerland, Norway, Finland and the Netherlands.

More than 124.000 lives were lost on the roads of the countries investigated by the OCDE, amounting to an increase in road death tolls of six percent in comparison to the same relative period in 1997.

The projected damages suffered in these countries as a result of the road accidents (death and injuries), were calculated to be approximately 450 billion dollars, representing an astonishing average figure of two percent of the gross domestic product of the countries surveyed by the OCDE.

Portugal and people hope that the "Maximum Safety, Zero Tolerance" campaign will assist in avoiding this embarrassing and frightening title from being carried over to next year. A possible solution could be an immediate jail term (one night only) for those who endanger the lives of others and themselves when they commit dangerous overtaking procedures.