The Government wants to install 12 more average speed radars by the end of the year and reinforce the use of artificial intelligence in traffic management and accident prevention.
“Right now, we are carrying out this assessment through ANSR, so that we can, with the introduction of these 12 more average speed control points, ensure that [os novos pontos de controlo] are understood as elements of prevention and that can ensure that people comply with the rules that are established” said Rui Rocha, Secretary of State for Civil Protection, this Tuesday, March 24, at the signing ceremony of a protocol to reduce accidents, which took place at the facilities of Lusoponte, a company that operates the Tagus crossings on the 25 de Abril bridge and the Vasco da Gama bridge, in Montijo, district of Setúbal.
“What we want is a reduction in accidents,” said the government official, recalling that last December the Observatory of the National Road Safety Authority (ANSR) presented a study in which it identified a set of “critical points on Portuguese roads”.
The Secretary of State for Civil Protection was speaking to journalists after the signing of the “Vision Zero – More Citizenship for the Roads of Portugal” protocol between the National Road Safety Authority (ANSR) and Lusoponte, which aims to achieve the objective of zero fatalities and zero serious injuries in road accidents by 2050.
The protocol also foresees a reduction in the number of fatalities and serious injuries by at least 50% by 2030.using 2019 data as a reference, which would mean a reduction in the number of fatalities on Portuguese roads to a maximum of 313 people in 2030.
Questioned by journalists, Secretary of State Rui Rocha clarified that the expansion of radars aims to reduce accidents, similar to the results obtained by Lusoponte – zero fatalities in 2025 -, but admitted that the “location of the new equipment is still being studied by ANSR, as part of the identification of critical points on the road network”.
Rui Rocha also highlighted the potential of artificial intelligence to improve traffic control and accident prevention, adding that contacts are underway with the digitalization government area to integrate technological innovation into these systems.
The government official recognized, however, that more important than preventive measures using artificial intelligence is the behavior of motorists, remembering that One third of road deaths are associated with speeding.
Rui Roca also recalled that one in four fatal victims drove with excess alcohol in their blood and that using a cell phone while driving “quadruples the likelihood of an accident”.
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