"Death is the Penalty for Traffic Crimes" is currently the
lead slogan of the National Authority for Road Safety's new
publicity campaign.
The three-month campaign will focus on a number of the main
causes of fatal traffic accidents.
An analysis of the causes of accidents in 1998 indicates that
224 fatal accidents, constituting 42% of the fatal accidents
in that year, were caused by deviations from the lane, from
the failure to keep proper distances and from speeding.
Analysis of accidents occurring during the first quarter of
1999 as compared to a corresponding period in 1998 indicates
that there was an significant drop (24%) in the number of
fatal accidents in 1999. However, an in-depth study of the
accidents' causes reveals that in 1999, veering from the lane
caused 36.5% of the fatal accidents, while in 1998, only
19.5% of the accidents were caused in that way.
Shmuel Hershkowitz, General Director of the National
Authority for Road Safety, explains that the purpose of the
campaign is to encourage public cooperation. In his opinion,
all of the previous campaigns were successful. He attributes
the decline in the number of death victims in 1999 to such
campaigns.
Hershkowitz notes that the new slogan was examined and
approved by the Gallup Institute which checks public opinion.
He admits that the slogan is a bit gruesome; but, then,
that's the way it should be.
