“A 23-year-old man died in a traffic accident in Katerini.” “A 30-year-old driver died and two were injured in a traffic accident in Mesogion.” “Fatal traffic accident in Trikala with two minor victims.” These headlines were written only in the first days of April. More flooded the Internet in March. While Greece was mourning the victims of the tragic accident at Tempe, families across the country were mourning their own children who were killed in a traffic accident.

“Every month and a half, 57 people die in traffic accidents in Greece. However, we don’t have that awareness there because we ourselves are drivers who voluntarily blind themselves and continue to drive with this bad behavior,” the report says. Giorgos Yiannis, professor at the National Technical University of Athens and head of the scientific committee that developed the National Road Safety Strategic Plan..

Greece succeeded in the crisis decade of 2010-2020. significantly reduce the number of road accidents. According to Mr Giannis, the decline was 54% and was the best figure in all of Europe. However, our country is still among the member states with the highest number of deaths in the EU. In particular, in 2021 Greece occupied sixth worst place with 57 deaths per million inhabitants.

Data Processing: Pavlos Methodius

Men are six times more dangerous

Based on this data and in connection with the upcoming trips leading up to Easter, “K” studied the profile of a dangerous driver and his psychosocial causes.

Mr Yannis clear. According to the available studies, many of which Metsovio took part in, it turns out that the most dangerous drivers are men and young people. “Male drivers, compared to the kilometers they drive in Greece, six times more dangerous than women. Internationally, they are four to five times more dangerous,” he emphasizes, adding that this difference between the two sexes is mainly based on risk perception as well as male culture. “Men take more risks, run faster and cover shorter distances than their predecessors.leading to more and more serious accidents because speed increases both the frequency and severity of accidents.

Data Processing: Pavlos Methodius

The need for demonstration and competition

Behind these traits, he explains, is a man’s intention to impress himself and possibly others. “This is a fact that is relevant both in Greece and in Europe, and is relevant at all times. Although this percentage is decreasing, and the culture is constantly improving, this is not happening at the pace that we would like, ”comments the professor, adding that such behavior is gradually being criticized by others, and therefore fewer and fewer men are engaged in highly paid activities. the profile also displays the behavior of the danger. “These are social norms. Especially for young people, a car is a symbol of strength, a good and fast car, but also the great risk it can bring.. Women traditionally – I’m not saying it’s good or bad – don’t symbolically demonstrate their power with speed and cars,” she explains.

OUR Katerina Tuliu, Experimental Psychologist and Fellow at the Institute for Transport and Sustainable Mobility (I.MET.), National Center for Research and Technology Development notes that this behavior is more common in Mediterranean countries, where his pattern still exists toxic masculinity, as they are directly related to men’s self-confidence, which stems from the stereotype that men are better drivers. “As the presence of women increases, the number of female drivers increases, the standards are changing. And women will gain more self-confidence and can also become aggressive drivers,” she emphasizes.

“The road is nothing but an expression of our society,” says O. Nikolaos Iliou, Professor at the Faculty of Civil Engineering at the University of Thessaly. “There is clearly stronger toxicity in male driving that is more aggressive,” he adds, pointing out that this behavior includes competition between other male drivers as well as the need to show off, often expressed even in the type of car that will be ruled by the chosen man. “You will see male drivers driving cars with bugs, small cars with huge exhaust pipes and engines with bugs,” he says.

Data Processing: Pavlos Methodius

From the “guide” of father to son

“I fight others. That’s how I love it, and that’s how my girlfriend will like me too, lady.” This phrase belongs to a 17-year-old student from Rhodes and is one of many she hears. Eleni Karidis and make her wince. President of the Society for the Support of Road Traffic Victims – Rhodes Road Safety Observatory and retired teacherMs. Karidi visits the school every day to educate and raise the awareness of students about road safety. She started this great project after the death of her child, 19-year-old Dimitris, who died when he was hit by a 26-year-old drunk driver who was speeding..

As Ms. Karidis points out, standards still play a big role. Men will still be influenced by celebrities who show off fast cars and idolize speed with statements like “I drove through Athens-Thessaloniki at 280”! But perhaps the most important role model is the parents themselves. ““Since dad drives like that and didn’t get hurt, then I won’t get hurt either.”. We are told this in the questionnaires,” says Ms. Karidis, who accuses several parents of irresponsible behavior.

“His father takes his motorcycle on the basis that he won’t get on his friend’s motorcycle and something will happen, but without first teaching him the value of a helmet or how to drive. Most young people with motorcycles don’t even have a license. A 14-year-old student cannot have a diploma. But the motorcycle was taken away from him,” he emphasizes, adding that there the parent’s attitude usually differs depending on the gender. “Women drivers also make many serious mistakes, but they are more conservative. The mother will say “be careful” without doing it on purpose, but the father, who defines himself as a “guide”, wants to make his son a guide. The son cannot but drive like the father.”

Data Processing: Pavlos Methodius

Motorcyclists – a separate category

Motorcyclists are also a separate category of accident sources in Greece. The profile of motorcyclists in our country is very different from the European one, which creates national specificity.

“A young motorcyclist is 40 times more likely to have an accident than a middle-aged car driver.“, – says the professor of the Polytechnic Institute of Metsovio Giorgos Giannis. The statistics are relentless. The professor notes that in all EU countries the use of helmets reaches 99%, while in Greece 79% for the driver and 46% for the passenger. Youth and men also make up a large category of those who do not accept wearing a helmet.Dead motorcyclists account for 17-18% of road traffic accidents in Europe.In Greece, this percentage doubles to 36%.

Data Processing: Pavlos Methodius

Good driver after 10,000 km

Finally, Mr Yannis refers to the risk associated with the inexperience of new drivers. Referring to the literature, he notes that the driver becomes good after 10,000 kilometers, adding that in the first thousand kilometers the driver is likely to make a mistake. This is known to scientists from different countries, such as the Nordic countries, France and Germany. Therefore, they are trying to limit this potential source of traffic by introducing various measures, such as the mandatory presence of a passenger for the first 5,000 kilometers, a ban on driving long distances from the area of ​​​​residence or at dangerous times of the day. like Saturday night.

Theory of secure systems

According to Mr Giannis, in Greece the biggest problem with traffic accidents is behavior, not infrastructure.

In her book My Hero, Ms. Karidis, quoting David Shinar, states how man leads how he lives. “If his personal life is characterized by tolerance, foresight, prudence and respect for others, then he will behave the same way. If his personal life lacks these desirable characteristics, then his driving style will also have a higher accident rate.”

The above conclusions, however, in no way remove the responsibility from the state apparatus. “There is a theory of a secure system. Accidents are not only due to the bad behavior of the driver, but also due to the bad behavior of the authorities, who did not provide proper training, proper roads and proper police work to avoid accidents. Every authority has a great responsibility to change wrong behavior in every way.”