Too many deaths on the TRNC roads

Hector


Joined: 26/08/2008
Posts: 2352

Message Posted:
02/11/2011 15:19

In Cyprus Today, they reported the needless and tragic deaths of 4 young men in 2 separate car accidents in as many days. In both cases the accident was as a result of the driver 'losing control' probably through excess speed. One was driving at 120kph when he crashed into a broken down car.



Driving in the TRNC for me, is not a pleasant experience these days, nerve wracking, with the terrible standard of driving. Expecting to get hit by another car any moment.



36 killed on the roads so far this year.

fiendishpaul


Joined: 18/05/2008
Posts: 1720

Message Posted:
02/11/2011 15:27

Hector



I couldn't agree more. I pass the spot where the other crash took place every day (just on the Girne side of Gonyeli roundabout). Having seen the pictures in the paper and the extent of the damage to the car, one can only surmise that excessive speed had it's part to play in that accident also.



It never fails to amaze me how people drive down the dual carriageway from Girne to Gonyeli. The speed limit for the majority of the road is 100kph but every morning, I am passed by cars doing well in excess of that and often sitting on the back bumper of the car in front - an accident waiting to happen !!



The call in the media is for more safety measures, but the key is addressing driving standards and it needs to be done quickly.

Geomin


Joined: 25/01/2011
Posts: 76

Message Posted:
02/11/2011 15:46

I passed this accident site yesterday and was amazed that another accident didn't take place, as lots of drivers were "rubber-necking" and not paying attention to the road ahead. Fiendishpaul is right - more driver education is needed as without this, safety measures are practically useless. How many more tragic accidents will it take until the authorities realise this? I heard that there was a call for crash barriers to be placed on the central reservation - what will this achieve? It just means that serious injury and deaths will be caused to drivers travelling in the same direction rather than those on the opposite carriageway!!

Dixie Normus


Joined: 22/02/2008
Posts: 820

Message Posted:
02/11/2011 16:55

Until a review of the driving test is undertaken all we can expect is more carnage, the blame is always put onto speeding or neglect. The problem as has been pointed out is lack of education, lack of attention and lack of brain cells are another major contribution.

10 years ago most of these folks only had a donkey, now they've sold stolen Greek land they have a Merc, its a bit like the wild west when the cowboys gave the indians whiskey they all went mad, same thing here but its motors.



D.N

ozwozz86


Joined: 24/10/2008
Posts: 336

Message Posted:
02/11/2011 17:20

You won't believe me, about a year ago a girl told me how a driving examiner during a test asked for her mobile number before the exam. She duly obliged and he passed her there and then with her sister in the back seat.



I will ask the girl again to confirm this story. If I have got the right end of the stick, its shocking and disgusting.



I agree also that the standard of driving here is awful. In fact, I would go as far as to say I hate the constant fear of driving on these roads.

cassius


Joined: 20/03/2009
Posts: 110

Message Posted:
02/11/2011 17:28

It's not just the poor driving standards but together with a very lax attitude to vehicle maintenance.

Shouldn't the "MOT" be upgraded from Mud flaps and clean engine to, Brakes and Suspension and everything else that makes for safer driving.

Putting up safety barriers are indeed a good thing as it helps those with no brakes to stop from their speeds of 125Kph plus

Sorry to be so negative but come on the people in charge of these things should open there eyes (And EARS)

BizziLizzi


Joined: 02/08/2011
Posts: 855

Message Posted:
02/11/2011 18:40

The majority of young men everywhere are in love with speed - its part of growing up.



"Rubber necking" is universal and causes accidents everywhere.



Message 4 10 years ago "these folks" drove small old saloon cars (often lovingly maintained)and a fewof the rich Mercedes saloons. They were not peasants on donkeys - just restricted by lack of money and facilities which stopped them from the stupidity of more "fortunate" nations!



There a lot fewer Brits and no 4 x 4s. I felt safe on the roads and could get to the other side of Girne in the time it now takes me to get to the nearest Supermarket.



I too dont like the speed (mainly taxis in my experience ) but what really scares me is a a repetition of the accidents I have already had - being forced off the road by a 4 x 4 and as a pedestrian being hit by a car driving through a narrow village lane without due car - both drivers Brits.



With your views, why are you here anyway?

vonny


Joined: 25/06/2009
Posts: 476

Message Posted:
02/11/2011 18:53

very well said bizzilizzi,i read a lot of your posts you say things how they are and not how you think they are unlike a lot of people on this forum. i do think driving tests should be made a lot harder and the upkeep of the car should be made more stricter ,the roads in this country are not made for speed,the tyres do not grip as like in the uk,going fast tends to make you skid especially breaking .its always sad to hear of another youngster being killed .

basil


Joined: 10/04/2009
Posts: 168

Message Posted:
02/11/2011 19:04

Well said, BizziLizzi.



It only takes forty minutes of patronising 'traffic cop' tv to remind us just how bad driving standards are in the UK; and at least road rage is pretty minimal over here.



Many of the problems are not caused by speed, but by lack of it - how many times have I seen a Brit pull out of a junction in front of me, then dither slowly down the road blocking my law abiding progress? Would I be shocked to see a Merc taxi or powerful 4x4 respond by overtaking? Nah. Not really. Unlike some of the retired sightseers, they may not have all day to dawdle to the shops - or the bar.



120kph may sound extreme, but it's 74mph. Just how many young drivers in the UK have never tried that on an apparently quiet road?

fiendishpaul


Joined: 18/05/2008
Posts: 1720

Message Posted:
02/11/2011 19:27

Basil



To say that many of the problems are not caused by speed is faintly ridiculous. As I said in post 2, try driving down the dual carriagway between Girne and Gonyeli on a regular basis, you will soon change your mind.

gooligan


Joined: 30/01/2007
Posts: 1591

Message Posted:
02/11/2011 19:49

fiendishpaul,Basil has a point,this pillock this morning pulled out straight in front of me as he left Korenium golf course and then tootled along at 35km/h whilst chatting to his 3 mates in the car,if you know that road it is nothing but curves until the power station but there were drivers risking their lives and others trying to get past him and then when he got to the straight road near the power station he put his foot down and was doing over a 100km/h and cars were still trying to get past him.

He eventually turned into the Courtyard,I wasn't surprised.

vonny


Joined: 25/06/2009
Posts: 476

Message Posted:
02/11/2011 19:56

its true,some of these slow drivers can cause accidents too and what gooligan said,the people behind get very impatiant and do risk their life and others too by overtaking.and it happens in other countries too

vonny


Joined: 25/06/2009
Posts: 476

Message Posted:
02/11/2011 19:58

lol wished i never wrote the word ''too''so often.sorry

Tiggy


Joined: 25/07/2007
Posts: 1994

Message Posted:
02/11/2011 22:30

During my recent trip, we were returning from a day out and about 150m from my turning on the right I looked in my rear mirror to see a car a fair distance behind. I indicated right and slowed down and moved over to get in position, as I was about to turn another car overtook me and the car behind and was inches from having the front wing of the car smashed off. The scumbag/ette sounded there horn as they went past.



This practise happens to often on this side of the island and what further disgusts me is the idiots that flash their lights to oncoming cars that the Police are ahead.



How do you get it across to these idiots that speed kills, are we in such a hurry to get to the grave yard.

BizziLizzi


Joined: 02/08/2011
Posts: 855

Message Posted:
03/11/2011 01:53

Well thanks Vonny (and Basil). I am a Yorkshirewoman and calls a spade a spade (though I try to resist he temptation to calll it a b....... shovel!)



Vonny makes a good point, its not only the surfaces its the camber. I have misjudged and taken bends a fraction too fast and found the car slewing off line - another two or three mph and I would have had bad problems.



The problem (as so many recounted here) it this country has had to grow up too fast! There have been so many "advances" in the last l0 years that it is not really surprising that technology, the authrities and people have problems keeping up with, and legislating for them. Tolerance and fewer unrealistic expectations would help.



And for those of us used to quiet roads and a simpler lifestyle and slower pace the delays and volume of traffic can be very frustrating. We were used to tourists dithering and found it a source of quiet and friendly amusement - and had time to stopand direct them.

Groucho



Joined: 26/04/2008
Posts: 7993

Message Posted:
03/11/2011 07:19

"There have been so many "advances" in the last l0 years that it is not really surprising that technology, the authrities and people have problems keeping up with, and legislating for them. Tolerance and fewer unrealistic expectations would help."

Well the hands-free kit for mobile phones is hardly a new thing but so many who drive erratically are using their phones held to their ears.... Hands free gear is hardly cutting-edge stuff is it?

Road discipline is almost non-existent... think of a bad habit and it seems to be fostered with relish.

The point has been made that the enforcement of legal regulations seems wholly misdirected to things like number plates, mud-flaps and the cleanliness of the car rather than safe mechanical condition.

flowerfairy


Joined: 17/09/2008
Posts: 1277

Message Posted:
03/11/2011 07:20

Mess 4, DM, I find your comments offensive. Have your say,by all means, but why the insults?

I wonder what the accident results would be if the newspapers printed every fatality in other countries?

Are we supposed to summize where your brain is, considering your chosen name on here?



Buzzielizzie, I so agree with your comments, also Basils'.

I was driving home on Tuesday evening following a hire car through Alsancak driving at less than

20mph !!!!!

Yes, others overtook, but I always fear someone pulling out of a junction and not looking both ways,

which has happened often.



Try driving in Sri Lanka, the drivers there make the drivers here look tame.

TRNCVaughan


Joined: 27/04/2008
Posts: 4578

Message Posted:
03/11/2011 08:27

Young drivers should be insured off the road, as in the UK. It amazes me that an 18y.o. here with a bad record is quoted the same premium as a driver 3 times his age with years of experience, for the same car.

marks


Joined: 01/11/2011
Posts: 83

Message Posted:
03/11/2011 08:30

Why do some posters keep comparing the dreadful driving in the TRNC with the rest of the world, per capita the accident/death rate here is astromical is comparison.

flowerfairy


Joined: 17/09/2008
Posts: 1277

Message Posted:
03/11/2011 09:31

Marks, do you mean here, as in London, or here, as in TRNC?

The reason I made that comment is because a friend of mine buys the local newspaper every week and makes me laugh when she says there's nothing in it.

I always reply the same, as this small Island does not have that much ''news'' to report on.

Except mainly parties and celebrations.



Accidents/fatalities are not usually ''news'' for the whole of the UK unless it is a major 'pile up'.

geronimo


Joined: 30/08/2009
Posts: 296

Message Posted:
03/11/2011 09:59

The daughter of a friend of mine is taking driving lessons with her parents (English) and has been told that before taking a test she has to buy TEN driving lessons and so long as she proves she has paid for the lessons, regardless of whether she takes them all or just two then she will be passed! How true this is I don't know buy when you see the senseless way these guys drive then I tend to believe this to be true! It is a bit like in Kenya where the saying is "Shauri ya mungu" (it is in the hands of God roughly translated or it is God's business) and I get the impression that is the same attitude here, It is Allah's will - sorry guys I try to prevent Him getting me sooner than I want to go!!

marks


Joined: 01/11/2011
Posts: 83

Message Posted:
03/11/2011 10:02

flowerfairy I mean the TRNC

fiendishpaul


Joined: 18/05/2008
Posts: 1720

Message Posted:
03/11/2011 10:32

Re road deaths per capita.



Please see attached link:



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-related_death_rate



Appreciate that it doesn't list TRNC but if you take a mean average between the figures for RoC and Turkey you get a figure of approx 11.5 fatalities per 100,000 population. Compared to the UK of figure of 3.59 per 100,000, think Marks' comment stacks up.



OK, I appreciate that this is less than scientific, but to my recollection there has been at least 10 fatalities this year and probably more.



That said, stay away from driving in Africa - it is seriously dangerous there !!!