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In the week that the leftist majority in Parliament decided there will be no relief for motorists in the Algarve seeking an exemption of tolls on the A22 motorway, comes the news that fatalities on the region’s roads have climbed from 29 to 40 in the past year.
The only other region to register worse data was Leira, where road deaths went up from 26 to 42 when compared with records from the previous 12 months.
The figures, released by the ANSR national road safety agency, compares the 12 month period ending 7 February 2019, with the previous 12 months.
The southern Portuguese region has also fared poorly in terms of serious injuries suffered by motorists.
Between 1 January and 7 February, 20 people were seriously injured on Algarve roads, which is up almost 30 percent on the same period in 2018.
The only other region nationally to produce more negative figures is the considerably more populated Greater Lisbon Metropolitan Area, where 25 serious injuries were recorded by officials during the first 38 days of the year.
On a national level, road deaths rose from 508 to 517.
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I'm amazed at the seeming "head scratching" when this topic is raised. You only have to drive on the roads in the Algarve to see what's wrong. Tailgating (this is witnessed every day and it seems that there is complete ignorance about what happens when a car travelling at just 50km/h stops in front of you and you're only cms away from it's back bumper), overtaking at speed when it's dangerous, overtaking only to take a turn a short way down the road, impatience, cutting off motorists when overtaking to express anger with slower driving, no indicating, general speeding and a total lack of respect for other road users. The idea of investing millions in "smart" roads is ludicrous when fundamental driver education is obviously not adequate. Additionally, the punishment doesn't seem to fit the crime otherwise drivers would be more reluctant to break the law. Not to sound trite, but it starts with a complete lack of respect in as simple an issue as parking the car. Zero tolerance is not a bad way to go. Perhaps emulating driver education in other countries that have successfully combatted high levels of road deaths would be a good place to start.
By Jenny Keating from Algarve on 22 Feb 2019, 11:07
There is no question that the driving conditions on the roads in the Algarve are potentially dangerous, however I believe it is mostly due to the drivers more than the road conditions. The latest high risk road behavior that I've witnessed are motorcycles driving between traffic, and passing cars while traffic is heavy on both sides. Very slow drivers are a hazard too, though the considerate ones do pull to the right to give faster drivers a safer opportunity to pass. Accidents and fatalities will continue to increase, including on the A22 if/when the tolls are eliminated and the highway will see higher usage. More cars on the roads equals more accidents.
By Alexis Strong from Algarve on 26 Feb 2019, 02:45