Starting today, Wednesday 23rd December, the GNR will intensify road patrols in the country until January 4, on the high traffic routes, to monitor the possible neglect of regulations by people during the festivities.
During the operation the objective of the National Republican Guard (GNR) is "to prevent road accidents, guarantee the fluidity of traffic and support all road users, while still being aware of the legal requirements arising from the current state of emergency, restrictions on movement and curfew. "
In the event of a traffic increase, especially in this period of Christmas, GNR warns that it has "special concern with the risky behavior of drivers who are sometimes motivators of serious accidents", such as "speeding, dangerous manoeuvres, giving way and the improper use of the mobile phone".
GNR will also be particularly attentive "to the non-circulation on the right lane on main and complementary highways and routes, as well as" to the incorrect or non-use of the seat belt and / or child restraint systems ".
In order for drivers to have a safe festive season, and for those who must travel, GNR advises that they adapt their speed to the weather conditions, the state of the road and the volume of road traffic, keep calm in situations of heavy traffic, and avoid manoeuvres which may contribute to the occurrence of accidents.
In the same vein, GNR also advises drivers to adopt "attentive, cautious and defensive driving, so that this Christmas season and the start of the new year, are periods characterized by happiness and unity of families, contributing to the reduction of road accident rates".
As well complying to circulation rules relating to the current state of emergency, the GNR also remind road drivers to refrain from actions, attitudes and behaviors that may increase the transmission of Covid-19, and follow guidelines of the Directorate-General for Health.
Original article available in Portuguese at http://postal.pt/
Comments
I think the police have to take action in ensure that these people are removed from the road until they have a full licence, not sure how they will go about this.
The UK uses a lot TV advertising to inform drivers about certain dangers, I might be mistaken but I don't think I have ever seen one that says you need a valid drivers license before driving.
To Peter Booker,
I do not know any road users, that do not have a valid driving license.
However, I am informed by the Portuguese news media, that a large proportion of drivers on portugal's Roads that (Portuguese or foreign)
do not hold a current full driving licences.
If you were concerned about everyday life in portugal, you would know about this appalling carnage on portugal's roads and would like to see that the GNR are assisted in there work by TV publicity, informing the public of the need to hold a full driving license, as this teaches people the correct way to drive that is safe for them and other road users.
As a footnote to my comment, the news that people in portugal are waking up to this morning, is that, three people died in the last 24 hours on portugal's Roads, on what would be the quietest day in the year on the roads.
If this is not a wake up call to the road authorities then, I'm not sure what it will take for government bodies to be accountable for the unnecessary deaths of road users.
The logical outcome of his plea is for more GNR road patrols to check on unacceptable driving standards and for far more roadside spot checks on driving documents.
Agree with the sentiment Brook, but respect for the GNR would increase if they weren't incentivised by bonuses linked to fines collected.
Ask some of the van drivers subject to random inspections followed by fines because they didn't staple the right bits of paper together.
However, the Government need to provide the public with information on the basic rules of the road, using TV advertising publicity campaign.
The publicity campaign should focus on, "if you drive a car you must have a full driving licence" followed up by a police campaign to target and charge the offenders and jail sentences for repeat offenders.
There are too many people driving in Portugal, "Portuguese and foreigners" without a full driving licence and these people are probably responsible for most of the dangerous driving and accidents resulting in deaths and life changing injuries.
It is the responsibility of the Government to ensure that we all drive with care and it is the responsibility of the police to ensure that the roads are safe from people who refuse to learn how to drive by taking driving lessons and then a driving test to show that they have a a good understanding of the rules of the road.