During the annual balance of police for 2016, the Renaissance man Tahiri re-boasted himself for the rounded success, including the road safety.

One year ago, in the beginning of January 2016, while the road accidents and their consequence in 2015 had increased in number compared to 2014, he found salvation in the increased number of vehicles and population. The number of vehicle for 2015 was declared as about 440 thousands, compared to 290 thousands in 2014 and 2013. Tahiri declared the population to be 5.2 million compared to 4.9 million in 2014 and 4.5 million in 2013. Through these artifices, like nowhere and never before, within a year, he diminished the index of the numbers of accidents, deaths and injuries for every 10 thousands vehicles and every 100 thousands inhabitants. 

While the numbers of 2016 are worse than those of 2015 and much worse than 2014, Tahiri keeps on showing off. In January 4, 2017, Tahiri said that in 2016 “there were 64 road accidents more than in 2015, but five deaths less, thanks to the punishing measures for the safety belt and cellular phones”.

According to the monthly bulletin of the ministry of the Renaissance man Tahiri, in 2016 there were  2036 road accidents with 269 casualties, 449 heavy injuries and 2053 non heavy injuries. The same source, for 2015 the numbers are respectively 1967; 270; 398; 2022 and for 2014 the numbers are respectively 1891; 261; 359; 1978.

Anyone who puts their brain at work understands that the official statistics show an increase of the road accidents number and an aggravation of their consequence in the last two years. The renaissance method of expanding the different preventive controls, fines and sanctions, after a small effect in 2014, gave no results in the two next years.

Soon, the lack of usefulness of this method became visible, but the Renaissance did not give up. They kept on going. The result: not only there is no sign of reducing danger in the roads, but there is a direct and indirect multiplied financial and non financial cost of the road traffic.

Only the number of penalty tickets, with a direct financial cost, has reached nearly 2 millions in the three years and a few months of the “Renaissance”, while the figures in Lek have gone crazy. The overwhelming majority of tickets are preventive sanctions, i.e. for inconsequent law infringements.

The number of blocked vehicles as preventive measures, of blocking days and unblocking cost has multiplied as has the number of cases and days of blocked driving licenses, by multiplying the direct and indirect cost.

The number of days and nights spent in jail or detention, as preventive measures, again inconsequential infringements, has multiplied, along with their relevant private and public cost.

Increased taxes on fuel (luckily softened in a certain way by halved fuel prices in the international markets) with no improvement in their quality and the growth of compulsory taxes and tariffs on vehicles increased the direct and indirect cost of road traffic significantly.

Failure to build new roads (a few miles here and there, practically nothing in three years); blockage or work slowdown in certain axes or rings, like in Fier, Vlora, Tirana; neglecting up to abandoning the existing roads, especially the rural and old national ones, have added significantly to the direct and indirect cost of the road circulation.

Like it wasn’t enough, more often than not, by governmental orders, in every place, in a wide scale, important axes and knots in Tirana, Vlora and elsewhere, have been blocked for celebrations and government shows, visits, football matches or senseless projects.

So, I have nothing else to say but: Poor them, who, in these conditions, have been caught in the road driving hassle.

/SYRI.net/