Christmas and New Year road safety campaign starts today with tough images
The Christmas and New Year’s road safety campaign has “tougher” images than in previous editions by showing the other side of the consequences of accidents, namely what happens in hospitals.
The National Road Safety Authority (ANSR) launched the campaign ‘The best gift is to be present’ at the Carris Museum in Lisbon. It starts this Wednesday and will take place until January 2, 2024 to appeal to all those who drive on the roads and streets to do so safely.
The president of ANSR, Rui Ribeiro, explained that the campaign is in partnership of more than 240 public and private entities and includes televisions, radio, national, regional and local press, ATM network, fuel panels on service stations, as well as institutional sites and foreign advertising networks in various cities, places of high visibility, through posters and other graphic displays.
Rui Ribeiro said that this year’s Christmas and New Year’s campaigns “are harsher than usual when they represent another side of road accidents that are a face that is usually hidden from everyone, which is what is happening in Portuguese hospitals.”
“Zero killed and injured on the roads is the only acceptable number,” he said.
During the period of the ANSR campaign, there are simultaneous awareness, prevention and supervision actions of the Republican National Guard, Public Security Police and National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC).
The Christmas and New Year operation of the PSP and GNR will begin on December 15 and runs until January 2, 2024, and there are two periods considered more critical due to the presumed increase in road traffic, between December 22 and 26 and December 29 and January 2.
The head of the PSP’s traffic and road safety division told journalists that the police will bet “on a posture of strong presence and great visibility in places where there may be a higher concentration of traffic and occurrences of accidents.”
“We will be present as a deterrent factor and to prevent drivers from having risky behaviors,” said Paulo Ramos, stating that the PSP will divide the inspection action into two parts.
The official indicated that, during the Christmas period, the PSP will have “a special attention to speeding and driving under the influence of alcohol, but also, and because it is a time where there is a great movement of people next to commercial areas, to the disrespect of traffic signs and behavior in roundabouts”.
During these times, he added, the PSP “will be attentive to excess alcohol and speed, the two main causes of road accidents.”
The GNR will also have “two periods of effort”, taking into account the increased traffic flow that is felt at Christmas and New Year’s.
According to the GNR, at Christmas the most critical routes are towards the North and Interior of the country and during the New Year holidays the roads towards the South.
The GNR spokeswoman, Mafalda Gomes de Almeida, told journalists that there will be a reinforcement of patrols and the campaign is also focusing on driving under the influence, speeding and distraction, namely mobile phones.
In turn, the commander of the ANEPC, André Fernandes, gave an account of the civil protection device that will be on the main roads of the country to “increase the responsiveness and speed of road and pre-hospital rescue units of fire departments”.
According to André Fernandes, this ANEPC device will contribute to “the reduction in mortality and shorten the response time that is between the accident and the transport of the victim to the hospital.”
The commander of the ANEPC stated that there are 132 fire departments located in the country with rescue and extrication equipment, rescue ambulances and command vehicles. All on high alert during the period of December 22 and January 2, with around 866 firefighters.
©ANSR