Army tries to cut down on road fatalities

THE Defence ministry and national guard have decided on a series of measures to combat a rise in fatal car accidents after a number of young conscripts lost their lives recently on the roads.

Currently, conscripts are allowed free public bus transport, however a minimum of eight soldiers are required to use a certain route for it to operate. Following the meeting, the rule will be scrapped while the authorities will look into the current routes and evaluate the demand.

An incentives plan is also being developed to maximise conscripts’ use of buses in order to avoid accidents. For instance, those that use the free transport scheme may have a one hour extension for the time they are expected to arrive at their unit.

After the decision to further collaborate with the police, the national guard has organised a series of lectures at army camps to try and prevent accidents.

This year, five training programmes are being organised on the road safety, three of which are new.

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