Where logic ends
Road accidents in Greece are increasingly taking on the characteristics of a war between the pedestrian and the driver. Data from the traffic police confirm what we experience every day. In the first five months of 2024, the number of pedestrians hit by a moving vehicle in the country came to 653, of whom 27 lost their lives and another 26 were seriously injured. Kathimerini reported that in Thessaloniki alone there were 145 incidents in which pedestrians were run over by cars, with the latest being a young family and their 2-year-old child.
In some cases, police find that the drivers were under the influence of alcohol, other times that they were speeding – often both issues were the cause of the accident. In Greece, 50% of fatal road accidents occur in residential areas, while the European average is 38%.
We read about blatant traffic code violations with a fatal outcome, careless pedestrians who do not have time to react, mobile phones in constant use by everyone, people injured, dead, damaged vehicles – we are bombarded with images of horrible accidents. These “battles” have dozens of unsuspecting victims. Every news story that has been written about road accidents has pointed out the evils: insufficient driver’s education and culture, failures in infrastructure etc. We don’t have to repeat them. In addition, almost as a rule, changes to the traffic code are announced with stricter penalties and additional measures, such as the 1,000 cameras that will be installed at key points in Attica.
But the problems appear faster than their solutions. Solutions with prohibitions will not work: no cars in city centers, indefinite license suspension for the offending driver, and whatever else anger and desperation (both justifiably) see as an “effective” measure. Injustices will happen, it is certain, but injustice is preferable to death, which is final and incurable.
But is this so, or are we flirting dangerously with the end of arguments? How did we abandon the roads and ourselves when we drive or when we walk? How did we end up without the basic knowledge of what it means to be out and about? Should we leave our cell phone in the bag, for starters?
