The Main Road

[the reiver]

There is a very evocative letter from Voula Kyriakea published on Parea Sti Mani, regarding the fatalities on the road from Kardamyli to Agios Nikolaos. I feel it it is worthy of greater publicity, and hopefully encourage some sane and sensible comments on this forum, which can be used towards improvements of the road.

I will kick off with my thoughts and be prepared to be shot at ! Remember the UK slogan "Speed Kills"? This is the main problem on this road, especially from Kalogria to Ag. Nik. Greeks/Albanians are foot to the floor on the straights and can't do corners. I have seen where Stavros crashed and it is a blind kink in the road coming from Stoupa. How often has a local pulled out in front of you, making you brake, when there's nothing behind you ? They then drive 100 m and turn off. Oblivious. They have no perception of speed and distance.

What we never hear later are the facts of the matter. Who was at fault, were they prosecuted etc.? For example, "Stavros the postman was knocked off his bike" Was it a push bike, a scooter or a high powered motor cycle ? It doesn't really matter, because regretfully another life was lost, but half a story is of no good when trying to come to sensible decisions.

[Pete]

Road fatalities in our region will continue unabated as long as measures such as driver/rider education, road safety awareness with media campaigns, highway engineering and Policing remain inadequate. Alas,in the current economic climate none of these possible solutions are likely to receive proper funding. In the intertim, drivers & riders of all nationalities can avoid drink driving, excessive speed on open stretches/within villages and mobile phone use/smoking whilst driving. It would be a start, cost nothing and save lives.

[jimbo]

I concur with the previous posts, but would add: drinking coffee/frappe to the factors of smoking & making/receiving mobile phone calls; the wearing (or not) of seat belt(s) in cars & crash helmet(s) on bikes (both motorized & pedal) & scooters; it would also help if car drivers did not determinely hug the middle of the road; at night, dip headlights as soon as they spot oncoming traffic; use direction indicators when making a turning; bicycle riders to have lights (working & on) when daylight fades. Yes, the "authorities" need to do a great deal, but in the meantime all of us road users need to take responsibility as far as possible for the safety of ourselves and other road users. This is a terrible waste of lives & a cause of so much pain & suffering to their friends, but most of all to their families.

[sando]

all of the above is relevant, especially the driver awreness, but having witnessed many of the cars in the area, a mechanically sound car, that can be trusted to stop within the required distance, in a straight line would be a starting point.
I have approached cars coming in the oposite direction with 1 working headlight, driving in the middle of the road, that until close up I thought were motor bikes. I have seen cars break hard and veer off drastically because the brakes are not working correctly. It is a whole programme of education that is required regarding driving and maintainance, along with a strong response from the local police.

[glenick]

Realistically,
The only measures that can take place that will make a difference in the short term, are traffic calming measures such as sleeping policeman ( speed bumps ) on approaches to villages on the main roads, many things have been tried in many places and as a driver they can be a pain, however cars have to slow down for them ( if they dont, some of the cars will fall apart anyway) in the last couple of years i have personall witnessed quite a few accidents and numerous near misses on the main road junctions with stoupa roads. also on the Neochori road.
glenick

[the reiver]

Thanks for the postings. The other fatality was a 29 yr old in Kardamyli.

I was coming back from Ag. Nik this pm when a car pulled out of the Kmoil petrol station right in front of me. I gave him the horn, and had to brake, and then the main beam but it made made no difference. Oblivious !!!