According to the latest INSTAT statistics, the number of accidents in February this year was 88. This number has increased by 14.3% compared to February 2022. The cause of road accidents, in 81.8% of cases, were the drivers themselves, aided by the corrupt system of issuing driving licenses as well as problems in road management.
Author Wendy Biba
"The vehicle was moving, while it was damaged by another vehicle. Fortunately, I didn't have any health damage, but it left me as a trauma", - this is how Esmir Lica, head of the "Lica" driving school, remembers his involvement in an accident.
"Now we are seeing a lot of road accidents", continues Mr. Lica, who adds that, according to him, the main reason that they happen are violations of traffic rules and ignorance of signage.
All Albanian citizens have experienced the terrible experience of an accident in one way or another. Someone was involved and someone else saw it, when it happened or after it happened.
According to the latest statistics from INSTAT, the number of fatal accidents in February this year was 88. This number increased by 14,3% from February 2022. The cause of road accidents in 81,8% of cases were the drivers themselves.
Hundreds of lives lost and thousands injured
According to an official response from the State Police, the number of lives lost in road accidents is in the tens every year. In 2017, 222 citizens lost their lives, while 363 others were seriously injured. A year later, these numbers would suffer a small decrease, respectively 213 citizens lost their lives, while 312 were seriously injured. Meanwhile, in 2019 the number of victims increased, going to 227, while that of the seriously injured, to 260. In 2020, there was increased attention from the Traffic Police with movement restrictions due to the pandemic, therefore the numbers of lives lost and seriously injured in accidents suffered a significant decrease.
Practically, in 2020 only 181 citizens lost their lives, while 183 others were seriously injured. A year later, the victims of accidents were again 197 and those seriously injured, 250. With the return of a normal situation, without restrictions of the pandemic, where driving vehicles could circulate freely again, the number of lives taken from accidents fell, recording 164 casualties and 211 wounded.
Officially asked about the measures that the State Police has taken to reduce the number of accidents, the General Directorate of the State Police states that it has intensified the monitoring of road axes, checks and detection of violators of the Road Code, using intelligent tools, such as smart cars, drones, alcohol and drug testing devices.
"Automatic radars and unregistered vehicles, which the Traffic Police already have at their disposal, as well as the implementation of a strategy that will remove the police officer from the road and increase the presence of modern logistics, will help to reduce the number of accidents ", - says the State Police, emphasizing the use of technology to reduce accidents and ensure traffic as normal as possible on the roads of the country.
Expert: Not only changes in the Highway Code, awareness is needed
Islam Qibini, road safety expert, in an interview with ACQJ, enumerates several causes, which lead to road accidents.
"The primary reasons for the accidents are the increase in the movement of vehicles on the main roads, the speed limit, non-compliance with traffic rules by drivers and non-compliance with the norms by pedestrians", he says.
Mr. Qibini further adds that disobeying traffic rules also occurs by pedestrians, who, according to him, account for 13.7% of the causes of accidents, according to the analyzes carried out.
The changes in the Road Code are welcomed by the road safety expert, describing them as necessary.
"Approval of the provisions of the Road Code, that young drivers for the first 2 years drive cars with 1500cc cylinders, it was necessary", he says, emphasizing that the changes should also be supported by the implantation of technological devices on 200 km of main roads. For him, public awareness plays an important role in reducing the number of road accidents.
"Society, the family, as well as the institutional cooperation for the formation of every leader for the direction of the means and for the rules, i.e. the activation of all actors, will affect the safety of the citizens", he concludes.
Who is behind the wheel?
Driving school is a mandatory link to obtain a driving license.
Tonin Gjinaj, head of the driving school ERALB, who is also the General Secretary of Association of National Driving Schools, states that "we are encountering a very lazy youth".
"Even in the classroom now, if we go, those trainees who are inside, you see two or three, playing with mobile phones. In every session we talk and only talk: no drugs, no alcohol and obviously, no cell phone use. They are premises for accidents", he says, adding that cell phones have recently become a huge concern for drivers.
Meanwhile, the road itself is a cause that affects accidents. No one can assess road problems better than a driving school.
"You can go from Casa Italia until Spring. The pit is in the middle of the bend, 35-40 cm. Imagine a driver who does not know the road, if the car falls into a pothole, the first tire will be punctured and he is prone to an accident", says Mr. Gjinaj, adding that, despite the appeal he has made to the relevant authorities and in the media, nothing has changed.
Among the problems that the driving school leaders point out is the signage.
"The placing of the signs has been done, not to say that the construction of some roads has been done, just to say that it is a road, as it is Nation Road, which does not create any kind of security to stay on the road", he says.
In light of concerns about road axes, Albanian Center for Quality Journalism addressed the Albanian Road Authority, asking about what are considered "black spots" in the country's road network.
From the answer available, it appears that, from 2018 to 2020, 105 "black spots" have been identified in the Albanian road network. In the available list ACQJ managed to identify "black spots" even within the two largest cities of Albania, Durrës and Tirana, respectively 76 and 26.
Another problem, which is noticed by the driving schools themselves, is the informality and corruption in the sector, especially in the driving schools that train bus drivers, who have recently become headlines for accidents that happen frequently.
"The buses are concentrated in 3-4 driving schools. How is it possible that I have 20 or so years of license in a driving school and I do not prepare more than 30-40 candidates for buses, while the driving schools in Kamez, 430 per year?!", he says, expressing concern about abuses.
"All driving schools collect them; they give 50 lek to one or two driving schools and they abuse the preparation. They don't prepare them", says Mr. Gjinaj, adding that unfair competition is a factor that impacts the quality of driving schools, but also brings a lot of damage to the state treasury.
According to Mr. Gjinaj, in Albanian driving schools the driving license is declared from 200 thousand old lek to 400-500 thousand old lek.
"These figures, as I say, have been declared in the Directorate of Taxes", he says, pointing the finger at the state, which, according to him, has not played its role in this market.
"The state, not only has not been active for 25 years, but has massacred this business. The income, which should have been deposited in the state treasury, is missing. These revenues, thanks to abuse, have entered the pockets of real estate agents and the corrupt, either in the Tax Administration or in the state administration, but they are missing from the state coffers", he says to ACQJ General Secretary i Association of National Driving Schools.
In Albania, 6 hours of practice for obtaining a license, in France, 20
Albania is today one of the few countries, not only in the region, but also in Europe, where, to get a driving license, only 6 hours of practice is enough.
In France, for example, a candidate who obtains a driving license for the first time must complete 20 hours of practice before taking the road test.
Meanwhile, Germany has one of the most rigorous driving license processes, with 14 theory lessons, each lasting around 90 minutes, covering topics such as driving safety, road signals and traffic regulations. Additionally, students must complete at least 12 lessons, each 45 minutes long, under the guidance of a licensed instructor.
Practical training covers a wide range of scenarios, maneuvers such as parallel parking, lane changes and overtaking.
On the other hand, in Montenegro, drivers must complete 30 hours of practical training, where driving skills, traffic rules and vehicle maintenance are taught.
Similarly, in Serbia the driving license process is divided into 40 theoretical classes and 40 practical lessons of 45 minutes each, providing comprehensive training in driving and road safety techniques.
With the increase in the number of vehicles on the road, the number of accidents also increases. According to a report by the World Health Organization (WHO), road traffic accidents are a major public health concern, causing 1.3 million deaths worldwide each year.
One of the countries that is struggling to improve road safety statistics is North Macedonia, where, according to World Bank data, there is a decrease in the number of deaths per 100,000 inhabitants due to road accidents, from 8.2 in 2000 to 5.1 in 2019.
Meanwhile, our country, which faces a high number of road accidents, does not have a long-term strategy for reducing the number of victims on the country's roads, which is reflected, whenever the situation on the road arteries worsens, with the changes that are made in the Highway Code, with the hope that they will serve to minimize the number of victims.
