An alarming state of affairs

By Jason Moore ANOTHER day, another road death in Balearics. Sixty-three people have now died across the Balearics in road accidents, an alarming state of affairs, especially when you take into account that the islands only have a population of under one million. One motorist this week came up with a valid point; it's not the roads which are to blame, it is the driving. Quite rightly, the government delegate held a crisis meeting this week with traffic chiefs, but what is needed is a massive increase in police patrols. A substantial number of accidents are caused by speeding, the only way to stop this is by ordering the police out in sizeable numbers and imposing heavy spot fines. The Balearic government, under fire over its ambitious road building programme, has said that once the new motorways are built there will be fewer accidents. I doubt it. There doesn't seem to be a sense of fear on local roads; there appears to be no fear of the police and no fear of breaking the law by speeding or driving dangerously. While in Britain drink-driving is taken very seriously, there is even a debate as to whether pubs should have a car park, in the Balearics, despite police patrols, it is still an issue which is not taken that seriously. The traffic situation in the Balearics is a nightmare. The death toll speaks for itself. The local authorities need to mount a major crackdown, especially during the busy summer months. Almost 30 percent of mortal accidents on the road involve people under the age of 25, this is the age group the authorities should be targetting. At the moment their message does not appear to be getting through.