Now, the roads also have panels which alert passengers of possible dangers, for example, fog, rain, traffic, accidents or road maintenance.
2.3 Police inspection
Now there are radars which control velocity in the roads which prevent people from going to fast, which could put other people in danger. There are meters inside trucks, which keep track of the velocity; so that police officers can check the speed at what the truck was in the last few weeks.
2.4 Future
When communications are faster, cars will likely be forced to be equipped with a GPS system which will monitor the speed. The GPS may be with a tube which may detect alcohol and drugs to the police. Nowadays there are cars with anti theft system, which are completely immobilized when the owner sends a code by mobile phone.
In future it will be possible the police to use this system, when the car is doing something against the law.
3. Cultural Perspective
Portugal is a country still divided between more traditional people, which work in fishing, agriculture and industries and city people which work mainly in services. The education standards also vary, according mainly with the economic conditions of the families, and we have people very well prepared, but the country need to invest more in people, in education.
The people with less education normally assume more risky behaviours in driving. In fact, some people in Portugal still drink before driving and drive at a speed that is not allowed in the highway, sometimes more than 150 km/h, when the speed limit is 120 Km/h. The highway to the Algarve is an example; it is common seeing people going at speeds of about 200 km/h.
In Portugal many people still do not know that driving with fatigue is dangerous, and unfortunately many accidents are related to that.
Drugs are also a problem since many people consume them, especially at night in clubs, and drive later without thinking in the effects. In other countries it is common that people ride a special night bus, but in Portugal it only came 3 months ago, so it is still not used.
Other negative cultural aspect is the fact that in Portugal people still talks on the cell phone while driving. It is proven that talking in the cell phone makes you lose 0.3 seconds in your reactions which, while moving in a constant speed of 30 metres per second, makes a difference of about 10 metres, which can be the difference between life and death.
In Portugal there is a lot of road rage, many cars go at a very fast speed passing through cars beeping and this obviously leads to unnecessary accidents.
Vehicle maintenance is something which is very important, but much neglected in Portugal due to the high price and the time needed. This fact increases the instability in the roads and certainly creates road accidents.
4. Moral and Ethics
Road accidents are inevitable, it represents a major public problem because of the high number of victims involved and also the seriousness of the consequences for the victim themselves and to their families as well. People should know this while driving.
As my father says people should know that when they are driving they are with a 700-1200 kilo metallic machine with 40-150 litres of gas on it. As my father told me having a car is like having a Swiss army knife. You can use it to open wine bottles, etc… but you should take in mind that you might chop somebody’s finger with it. A car is the same, but with bigger impacts. Whilst driving a car you should know that you are putting human lives at risk, not only yours or the ones of people inside your car, but also other lives.
Licenses are nowadays too easy to obtain. There are many people that simply have lack of driving skills, but are permitted to drive cars. Tests should be more rigorous and there should be more lessons, both theoretical and practical.
The highest controversial issue, but also the most important matter in terms of driving is. Old drivers are a very big cause of accidents everywhere. In 2003 an elderly which was 86 years old, George Russell Weller, was driving when he entered to Santa Monica street market, and killed 10 people. When Mr Weller got of his car he was clearly in shock, but what he told the police was that he committed a “mistake” by pressing the accelerator and not the brakes. This case obviously raised the issue in California due to its media attention.
5. Conclusion
Portugal is in the 19th spot for deadliest roads in European Union, twice as many people are killed in their cars in Portugal than in Italy, per head of population, and four times as many as in the UK.
Portugal is now trying to change its rankings by changing behaviours, educating people on the risks of driving and having harsh penalties on those who are driving without respecting the laws. Portugal will definitely go up the ranking, but only after a lot of fines.
If people drive normally at 100km/h in a 50 km/h area, the reason behind this behaviour is the lack of vigilance. There are only 2400 officers; this number is considered to low by many officers.
Another problem that the country faces is that people do not pay the fines; this is due to the slow court system that permits many fines to prescribe.
Now the alcohol limit is, with Sweden, the lowest in Europe, 0.02 grams per litre of blood. Meanwhile Minister Rui Pereira say that 84% of the Portuguese were in favour of this law, others claim that it affects the wine business. Some wine sellers suggest that a Mediterranean country, like Portugal, should have that alcohol test at 0.5 but I completely disagree.
6. Bibliography
