Majorcan roads claim another three lives

Three people have died on Majorca's roads in the past 36 hours and traffic police chiefs were yesterday asking drivers to be extra careful over the weekend, not only because of the New Year festivities but also because of the poor weather and strong winds, the latter of which is thought to have been the cause of one of yesterday's fatal accidents. The worst of the accidents happened on Thursday night along the Manacor road to Porto Cristo and involved three vehicles. According to the Guardia Civil two Moroccans, both in their twenties, were killed in the multiple accident. The 27-year-old driver of one of the other vehicles involved was rushed to hospital with serious injuries while the third driver escaped with light injuries. The third life was lost yesterday morning near Bendinat on the road between the Port of Andratx and Palma. The victim was a 27-year-old motorcyclist who first hit the curb and then a lamp post. The Guardia Civil suspect that the Bendinat accident was caused by the strong winds. These three latest fatalities bring the number of people killed on the Balearics roads to 141, 14 less than last year's total of 155. Over the next few days, police will be stepping up security on certain roads in order to boost safety. The death toll for 1999 was the highest since 1991 and the increase caused the traffic police a great deal of concern. Police say one of the reasons is the poor condition of the roads, but they are also continually trying to clamp down on drinking and driving and also speeding. The Christmas road side breath test campaign was also re-launched last night across the region and will continue until January 2.