Under the celebrations of the European Road Safety Day, the Regional Secretary for Science, Technology and Infrastructures announced in Ponta Delgada on Tuesday that the Regional Government will conduct a research on road safety.

This study, which will be developed by the Regional Secretariat for Science, Technology and Infrastructures (SRCTE), intends to investigate the causes of accidents, monitor the measures and effects of driver behaviour regarding their compliance with the rules of the road, study road infrastructures and analyse the introduction of new technologies for road surveillance and prevention.

José Contente, who presided over the signing ceremony of a cooperation protocol between the Regional Transport Fund and PSP (Public Safety Police), stressed that the Regional Government wants to introduce new road safety measures. “We have paid special attention to road infrastructure in the Azores, through the organisation of some awareness-raising campaigns, but we still need to do more. We want to accurately know the causes of all types of accidents occurring in the Azores and to do more research on this area so that we may be able to invest in new measures,” stated the Regional Secretary.

José Contente defended new strategies for this area and defined as strategic goals, the improvement of drivers’ training, the effective enforcement of traffic regulations, the continuous promotion of road safety, the use of Information and Knowledge (ICT) Technologies for that purpose, the enhancement of emergency and after-assistance services for victims and the protection of vulnerable road users.
 
“We also plan to launch a website on the portal of SRCTE for the promotion of road safety, which will include information, instructions and recommendations addressed citizens as well as the implementation of a communication policy for this purpose,” added José Contente.

For the Regional Secretary, as long as there are deaths on regional roads, the optimal safety levels and goals have not been met.
Nonetheless, the new road network, the improvement of vehicle safety, the action taken by the police and the increase of drivers’ civic awareness are some of the factors that have contributed to the reduction of road casualties in the Azores.

In 2010, the casualty ratio – the number of victims per one hundred accidents – registered in the Region was 0.33, which was lower than Mainland Portugal (2.09). Moreover, the accident ratio is also lower in the Azores (0.04) compared to Mainland Portugal (0.07). It is also important to mention that the number of casualties in the Region decreased 64% between 2002 and 2010 while in Mainland Portugal the number of casualties decreased 50% in the same period of time.  

José Contente also stressed that the Azores are adopting and adapting the guidelines of the Committee of Regions on the road safety policy for 2011-2020. “Road safety will be highlighted in the upcoming book on transport policy. Therefore, we are considering road safety based on the integrated strategy as well as on other policy measures such as energy, environment, employment, education, youth, public health, research, innovation and technology, justice, insurance, trade, etc...”

The Government official defended the maintenance of good partnerships with PSP, the Azores Road Safety, schools and with all those who fight towards the reduction of the accident rate to nearly zero. Under these synergies, the protocol signed on Tuesday authorises the transfer of twenty PSP uniforms for children in order to be used in the awareness-raising campaign “Safe School.”

Furthermore, José Contente reminded the proposal submitted by the Parliamentary Group of the Socialist Party establishing the allocation of a share of fines to the re-equipment of PSP, which would be otherwise transferred to Mainland Portugal. This measure has contributed to improving road surveillance, education and safety.

This year, the regional public investment in road safety campaigns will be maintained, corresponding to a 75,000 Euro investment.