In Greece, thousands of cameras will monitor traffic violations

LETTER FROM ATHENS

The Conservative government aims to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries by 50% by 2030. To achieve this, it plans to install 1,388 cameras across the country by 2026, starting with 388 in Attica, the region surrounding Athens, by 2025, focusing on the busiest roads.

“Unfortunately, human resources cannot respond to all criminal behavior on the roads. The solution [to reduce accidents] lies in intelligent policing and the use of new technological tools, such as cameras,” said Greece’s Minister of Citizen Protection and Police, Michalis Chrysochoidis, on Thursday, November 28, during the presentation of a wide-ranging plan to fight traffic violations.

Additional cameras will be set up at a later date in the region around Thessalonica, Greece’s second-largest city.

The cameras, which will operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, will monitor speeding, running red lights, parking on crosswalks, phone use while driving, and failure to wear helmets for motorcyclists or seatbelts for drivers and passengers.

The data will be immediately forwarded to the police for verification, and motorists will receive an SMS if an offence is confirmed. “We hope that this system will act as a deterrent and help prevent offences,” said government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis at the presentation. The plan for Attica alone is expected to cost around €18.8 million, funded in part by European funds.

This decision comes at a time when Greece remains one of the European countries with the highest road death rate. Over the last decade, fatal road accidents have fallen by 22% and serious injuries by 35%, but the improvement is deemed insufficient.

Poor performer

According to a report by the European Commission, Greece was the fifth country in the European Union (EU) with the highest number of road deaths in 2023, after Croatia, Latvia, Romania and Bulgaria. Around 53 people lose their lives every month on Greek roads. The country recorded 61 deaths per million inhabitants, compared with a European average of 46.

As a poor performer, Greece also has one of the highest road accident fatality rates in residential areas (50% compared with an EU average of 38%), mainly due to motorcycle accidents. On average, around 20 motorcyclists die every month.

“The problem today is that fatal road accidents have moved to urban centers. They are caused by motorcyclists not wearing helmets, drivers using their cell phones while driving, and many other reasons. Two hundred new traffic officers have been added. Drones have also been deployed, but that’s not enough, hence this plan to install thousands of cameras,” explained Chrysochoidis.

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