Police authorities reported 11 deaths, including nine on mainland roads, due to road accidents, a number that increased due to bad weather between 18 and 25 December.

According to data released today at a joint press conference by GNR, PSP and the National Road Safety Authority (ANSR), nine people died on the continent’s roads, representing a 57% decrease from last year (21 deaths).

The two fatalities that occurred in the Azores and Madeira do not fit the ANSR statistics.

Also the number of serious and minor injuries in Natal 2019 operation decreased, although there were more accidents, which deserved praise for the behavior of drivers by the president of ANSR, Rui Ribeiro.

“The decrease in victims shows responsible behavior on the part of drivers and we hope they will continue to do so until the end of the operation on January 5, allowing the numbers to continue to decline,” he said.

In the eight days of the Natal accident-fighting operation, police authorities reported 3,521 road accidents (334 more than last year), 39 serious injuries, compared with 46 in the same period of 2018, and 841 minor injuries, against 1,038 a year ago. year.

The authorities carried out 240,220 enforcement actions, including radar and 32,902 alcohol testing, for which 575 offenses (1.8%) and 205 arrests were detected due to the blood alcohol crime rate.

At the national level, these 240,220 inspections recorded 23,887 infractions and 331 driver arrests, as it included 205 for excess alcohol.

Over 15,000 speeding, 370 for alcohol abuse and 390 mobile phone violations were also detected.

According to Colonel Paulo Gomes, in the GNR action zone, 2,190 accidents were detected, causing seven deaths and 30 serious injuries.

However, he said, the most serious accidents are related to bad weather and not the relocation of families for the celebration of Christmas.

In the PSP area, according to quartermaster Nuno Carocha, 1,504 accidents were recorded, most of them due to speeding, non-compliance with priority rules and the use of mobile phones.

These accidents caused four deaths, 421 injured, including 14 serious.

The “Christmas and New Year” operation, which ends on January 5, has about 19,000 PSP and GNR members who will continue to supervise and patrol the Portuguese roads until the New Year in order to reduce road accidents. .