More than 38,000 traffic violations were recorded in the Greater Athens region last month, police said Tuesday, with helmet-less motorcyclists topping the list, and a total 526 accidents with 10 fatalities.
The May numbers were worse than those for April, when there were 27,900 violations, 461 accidents and seven deaths. However, Orthodox Easter was in April and as a result a large number of Athenians headed into the provinces for the Easter holidays.
Last year the conservative government overhauled Greece’s highway code to introduce much stricter fines and penalties for most traffic violations.
Since the new code came into force in September, police have launched an unprecedentedly determined campaign to enforce it, which in turn has seen a drop in offenses such as drink-driving and eschewing seatbelts and crash helmets.
Over the past week, traffic police on major roads in the Greater Athens region subjected 21,126 motorists to breathalyser tests, and only 195 – 0.92% – were above the legal blood alcohol limit.
