Portugal Tackles Rising Number Of Road Deaths

A conference is being held Thursday in Cascais, suburbs of the capital Lisbon to discuss measures to improve road safety in Portugal

LISBON, Sept 21 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st Sep, 2017 ) : A conference is being held Thursday in Cascais, suburbs of the capital Lisbon to discuss measures to improve road safety in Portugal.

Between January and August this year, 336 people died on the roads in Portugal, 55 more than in the same period last year, according to Portuguese Lusa news Agency. These deaths were the result of 84,737 road accidents.

In 2000, Portugal had the highest road fatality rate in Europe, according to the International Road Traffic and Accident Database. Since then, improved safety measures had seen figures fall by 40 percent in the past six years.

This year's figures therefore mark a significant setback. The conference has been organized by the National Association of Vehicle Inspection Centers of Portugal (ANCIA) in collaboration with the National Republican Guard (GNR) and the Safer Roads Association.

Members of all three groups will meet with road safety experts to discuss this year's developments and measures designed to reverse the trend. The event has been programmed to coincide with the E.D.W.A.R.D. (European Day Without a Road Death) project, a Europe-wide initiative launched by TISPOL, the European Traffic Police Network.