Alcohol, heat, stupidity result in deadly weekend on Czech roads

It was a long weekend for the Czech Republic this weekend, with the country closing early on Friday afternoon and public holidays on both Monday and Tuesday. But while most people spent the five-day break relaxing at the cottage or cooling off in the local pond, dozens of families across the Czech Republic are mourning the 26 people killed in road accidents – often senseless, always horrific – that took place over the holiday weekend.

Photo: CTK

Friday, Slavkov, South Moravia – an elderly man for as yet unknown reasons swerves into oncoming traffic, killing not only himself but also his 12-year-old granddaughter.

Saturday, Brno, South Moravia – a drunk-driver with no driving licence mounts a tram stop, hitting a woman and her daughter, one of whom is killed instantly, the other is fighting for her life in hospital.

Sunday, Nový Jičín, North Moravia – two young men are killed when their transit van hits the pillar of a motorway bridge; their van is almost totally demolished.

Then Nymburk, North Bohemia – a man is killed instantly as he cycles the wrong way up the fast lane of a motorway.

Leoš Tržil

At present the death toll for the five-day period stands at 26, after three people were killed on Tuesday evening when they ignored a signal at an unmanned railway crossing. Leoš Tržil, head of the Czech Police transport division, gave his explanation for the high number of accidents in an interview with Czech Television.

“Certainly the weather was a factor, especially in the accidents that occurred on Saturday and Sunday, when many drivers were tired and hot. Unfortunately each year we can predict with some certainty that the summer holidays are a period when we’ll see a substantial rise in road accidents.”

The figures mean an average of 4.2 people were killed per day on Czech roads over the long weekend, compared to the 2010 daily average of 1.59. Road safety expert Jaroslav Hořín told Czech Television that Saturday’s accident in Brno was particularly shocking.

Photo: Barbora Kmentová

“The guy had a lot of alcohol in his blood and hit two pedestrians – that’s terrible, but the combination of the heat and alcohol - particularly alcohol, obviously - is always fatal. It’s simply up to people to drive responsible and judge their driving capabilities properly. For example the guy who died this weekend after cycling the wrong way in the fast lane of a motorway – that’s just absurd.”

Absurd certainly, and an indication that while the authorities have succeeded in reducing the number of road deaths in the Czech Republic – the annual figures show a steady decline in the last decade – there is still much work to be done. Improving road safety is one of the top priorities for the new transport minister, who will take over the job on Tuesday.