How many dead in Greek streets?

An old woman in Keratsini

A man in Kolonos

A police officer in Katehaki avenue

Another old woman in Nikaia

A fifty-year-old man in Alexandras avenue

A woman near the Athens Hilton

A grandma and her granddaughter in Kifissias Avenue

When we started the “Moms in the Street” initiative, the tragedy of the grandma and her grandchild who were run over because someone had parked on the sidewalk was still fresh. Ten years later, another grandma and her grandchild were victims of a hit-and-run. This year, another grandma and her grandchild were sacrificed on Greek roads, where cars park on sidewalks and pedestrians walk on the tarmac.

All those years, we have been sounding the alarm: it is unacceptable that pedestrian infrastructure forces people to walk on the road. Not merely unacceptable, but downright criminal: every year, one out of four people who die in traffic accidents is a pedestrian.

It is criminal that there are no crosswalks at every intersection. The existing ones are blocked by parked cars, while drivers never stop at them. This is like telling pedestrians that the white stripes are meaningless and they may cross at any place. Yet when pedestrians do just that, it is their lives that are at risk (and often lost).

“Moms in the street” demand infrastructure that protects us as soon as we put the car keys in our pocket. We want protection when we wear neither helmets nor seat belts. We want the pedestrian infrastructure to be as safe and well-maintained as the one for drivers (if not more). We want the primary concern of those who rebuild or patrol Greek streets to be how and where pedestrians will cross.

Because we are all pedestrians. And when we walk, we have no airbags.

Greek traffic chaos

I am reposting an article, by Mr. A. Koskinas, which accurately describes the situation in Greek streets:

Aristotle, Greek tourist guide

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I’m borrowing a photo I saw here, which illustrates the daily traffic chaos in Greek streets better than any of mine.

Chaotic streets

Traffic in Greece is chaotic: drivers run red lights, make unexpected turns without signalling, squeeze their vehicles in between others, overtake without much regard of who’s in front or behind, go up one-way streets, drive on sidewalks and pedestrian streets, exceed the speed limit compulsively.

Pedestrians, on the other hand, jaywalk with complete disregard of zebra crossings and traffic lights, weave in an out of gridlocked vehicles and are often found walking in the street instead of on the sidewalk.

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What the law says

People who come to Greece often ask me whether our traffic code is so much different than those of other countries.

The answer is no.

The laws, rules and regulations are the same. We use the same traffic lights and…

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