BALEARIC ROADS HAVE CLAIMED 80 LIVES SO FAR THIS YEAR

By Humphrey Carter A total of 80 lives have been lost on the Balearics roads so far this year and 28 of the fatal victims have been aged under 30. According to the latest report published by the regional traffic police department yesterday, 69 of the dead are male and the remaining 11, female while the vast majority, 50, were the drivers of the vehicles involved in the fatal accidents. Only 16 were passengers, according to the report which also reveals that 26 of the 80 victims were European Union citizens, 12 were aged over 65 and two were cyclists. The most serious accident to date in the Balearics happened over the summer in Minorca when a British tourist lost his wife and two children. A family of Britons escaped with their lives from the other vehicle involved in the crash. However, traffic chiefs are concerned about the fact that nearly half of the victims, 31 in total, were neither wearing a seat belt nor a crash helmet and that is an issue the authorities are going to be re-addressing over the next few weeks. May has been the most tragic month this year with the monthly death toll rising to 14 while in February, only three people died. Since 1995, the Balearics roads have claimed the lives of a total 1.418 people and 1.073 of those have been lost in Majorca. Minorca's roads have claimed the lives of 104 people over the past decade and Ibiza 241. Since 1995, the highest annual road death toll was recorded in 1999 when 155 lives were lost. The new driving licence point system is said to be having a positive effect and that road deaths have fallen, but figures corresponding to the use of seat belts and crash helmets have caused concern.