Calls grow for reduction on speed limits
In view of the death of six people in seven road accidents over 24 hours from Thursday through to Friday, activists are calling for stiffer penalties and reduction of speed limits.
SOS Traffic Crimes, set up by relatives of traffic victims, has been pushing for a change in the legal framework, as currently road accidents are legally designated a misdemeanor or manslaughter.
“Right now in the city the speed limit is 50 km/h. To be convicted of a felony if you kill someone you must be driving over 90 km/h,” says Manolis Stavroulakis, whose child was killed in a road accident in 2005 and who has since then dedicated himself to the prevention of traffic accidents.
“With a limit on the national highway of 130 km/h, if the perpetrator of a traffic accident drives at 190 km/h, he is tried for a misdemeanor. He will only be charged with a felony if he drives faster. But if there is a collision at over 190 kilometers per hour, the victim will not even be found,” he stressed.
Relatives of the victims have repeatedly called for the speed limit in the city to be dropped to 30 km/h.
“Now not only has the speed limit not been lowered, but an extra 40 km/h has been allowed in order to prosecute someone for a felony. This creates room for work for the experts to prove that someone was driving at 89 and not at 90 km/h. This is a mockery of the issue,” he stressed.
A Justice Ministry bill currently under consultation until December 28 does not provide for a reduction in speed limits.
“The only thing that changes the new legislation is that it makes it a felony to cause a fatal traffic accident by violating a red light and of course speeding,” says the president of the group, Giorgos Kouvidis.
