Another alarming rise in road deaths this year

Balearic traffic police chiefs will at the end of this year be faced with another increase in the number of road deaths. A report published yesterday in the Accident Statistics Annual confirmed that last year in the Balearics, the number of fatalities on the region's roads rose by 12, in comparison to 1999, with a total 165 lives lost. All the indications for this year point to a further and much more dramatic rise. The last set of figures collated at the end of August showed a 32.5 per cent rise in road deaths during the first half of this year. The first six months 2001 witnessed 106 deaths on Balearics roads, 26 fatalities more than during the first half of last year. The report, put together by the Traffic Department emphasises the need for tighter road safety measures to be introduced in the Balearics. Two of the main problems are the high number of vehicles and the poor condition of the region's roads. While attempts by the local authorities to improve public transport in order to encourage more people to leave their vehicles at home are failing to enjoy much success, traffic police bosses believe that a new approach is needed to making drivers more responsible while tightening traffic controls. In Majorca, an average of ten per cent of drivers tested for alcohol at the scene of an accident have tested positive this year, while in Ibiza the figure is as high as 20 per cent.