ANOTHER two teenagers lost their lives on the road at the weekend when their car veered out of control and crashed into concrete wall, before hitting a post-box. Three other youngsters in the car were being treated in hospital for injuries but were out of danger. The crash, which occurred at 4am on Sunday on the main Lakatamia road when the teenagers were returning home from a club, was caused by excessive speeding, said the police.
Yesterday, radio stations devoted most of their morning news shows to the latest road tragedy, asking how our society can best protect its youth. Senior police officers, the minister of justice, deputies and members of the public all gave their opinions, but nobody had any ready solution to propose. Justice Minister Doros Theodorou, once again lamented the lack of a ‘road conscience’ among drivers, in particular the young, saying that it was all down to education. Road-safety lessons had already been introduced at schools but, as he said, there could be no results overnight.
A senior traffic officer said that the traffic division had been strengthened by an additional 60 men – on the orders of the police chief – so there could be more night-time patrols. Ironically, Sunday’s accident took place a few hundred metres from a police checkpoint. A big police presence on the roads may reduce speeding and reckless driving but it is certainly not a safeguard against fatal crashes.
Some reporters tried to make a big issue out of the fact that youngsters went to mechanics and had their car engines souped-up, so their cars would go faster.
Although illegal, this was a widespread practice, according to the police, but it was foolish to suggest that this was the reason for speeding; today’s cars need no such tampering to achieve high speeds. The police could arrest all mechanics who soup up engines without reducing the number of road deaths.
The problem is that there are no obvious or easy ways to reduce the road death toll. There is only one effective way to protect young drivers – raise the age at which driving licences are given to 21, even though this would penalise youngsters who drive cautiously. The state could impose very high insurance premiums for young drivers; or courts could impose a six-month driving ban on a youngster caught speeding, even if it is a first offence.
These are very harsh measures that would never be approved by the legislature. So what can be done to protect the young and inexperienced drivers? The police should continue their patrols and the government should step up its road safety campaigns in schools. This will not eliminate road deaths, but it may in the long-term help develop a ‘road conscience’ among the young.
