There is a popular saying that fits perfectly into one of the most talked about and viewed moments in recent days: “Do as I say, not as I do.”
We can use this expression to criticize a video released by the office of the Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, in which he appears in a moving car without a seat belt. In fact, the images raise a question right away: did no one from the team behind the “documentary about a day in the life of the Government leader” realize that he was recording a traffic violation? And after the complaint there was also no apology for the error?
In a country where the most recent annual statistics – released in the Annual Internal Security Report and which state that 22,185 infractions were detected last year for not using seat belts and restraint systems, compared to the 19,008 reported in 2024 – show that there are more and more people not using this system that helps save lives in the event of an accident, what can we say about the recorded and publicized example? I don’t think anything good…
To make matters worse, all of this happened during the Operation Easter (11 to 21 April), a period in which the PSP and GNR recorded 2602 accidents, which resulted in 20 deaths, 53 serious injuries and 845 less serious injuries. In the same period last year, five people died on federal highways.
In other words, we are facing a serious problem, so much so that the Ministry of Internal Affairs, on the same day that the provisional data from the security forces were known, released a statement guaranteeing that a “package of strategic, medium and long-term measures, and other more immediate ones will soon be presented”. In a document that highlights what we have all known for years: a proportion of national motorists continue to engage in risky behavior – driving under the influence of alcohol, speeding and inappropriate use of mobile phones while driving.
Portugal has a National Road Safety Strategy 2021-2030 – Vision Zero 2030 whose objective is to achieve zero deaths and serious injuries on national roads by 2030. An ambition to which we must all contribute, even if it is by putting on our seat belts before starting a journey. Unlike the examples we are seeing.
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