Gov’t to introduce stricter road safety measures, deputy PM says
The government is stepping up efforts to reduce road accidents with a new set of policy measures aimed at improving road safety, Deputy Prime Minister Kostis Hatzidakis has told an event marking the 20th anniversary of the Panos Mylonas Road Safety Institute.
Hatzidakis said that the revised traffic code to be submitted to Parliament this month will introduce stricter penalties and a default speed limit of 30 km/h in residential areas.
While Greece has seen progress in reducing road deaths – down from 2,182 in 1998 to 627 in 2023 – the country still lags behind the EU average. Fatal road accidents in Greece decreased by just 3% between 2019 and 2024, compared to 13% across the EU. Alarmingly, fatalities increased by 4% in 2024 compared to the previous year.
To address this, the government is focusing on five key areas: modernizing road infrastructure, renewing public transport fleets, expanding metro operations (especially on weekends), enforcing stricter traffic laws with the aid of technology like speed cameras and enhancing road safety education for children.
“There is no room for complacency,” Hatzidakis warned, underlining the government’s commitment to reversing the recent rise in road fatalities.
Kathimerini
