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NEWS
Metunah Continues War on Traffic Accidents
by S. Fried
Metunah, the organization for road safety, has lodged an
official complaint with the Israel Police for causing death
by negligence. The complaint was issued against the fifteen
members of Knesset who supported the bill for lowering the
minimum driving age. Metunah claims that the MKs knew that
the law was liable to cause people's deaths, due to the
careless, illegal driving patterns unusually common among
young people.
The charge was presented mostly for publicity, of course,
following the death of a young girl in Netanya who was run
over by a seventeen-year-old boy who had just received his
driver's license.
Nurit Grossman, spokesperson of the People in Red
organization formed four years ago by families that had lost
members in traffic accidents, says, "The killing of Shani
Itzkovitz by a seventeen-year-old only serves to reinforce
the apathy and lack of understanding on the part of
ministers of transport throughout the years as well as that
of the members of Knesset who supported the law without
considering its consequences."
Zelda Harris, Metunah spokesperson, notes that while new
young drivers had formerly been required to be accompanied
by an adult driver for the first six months, the period has
been lowered to a mere two months. According to Harris,
Commissioner Yaakov Raz, head of the Israel Police Traffic
Department, has issued orders not to issue tickets to young
drivers driving without the required adult supervision,
thereby essentially removing any substance from the law.
In a related announcement, Professor Gary Ben-David, head of
the Center for Prevention of Traffic Accidents, commented on
the new Knesset-approved changes in the fines for traffic
violations. "Any lowering or raising of fines for traffic
violations is automatically a waste of time. The size of the
fine itself has no influence upon a driver's behavior; what
matters is the chance of his getting caught. Most drivers
don't pay their fines anyway, because they know that the
chances of anyone doing anything about it are
infinitesimal."
According to Ben-David, the whole enforcement system should
be revamped. Emphasis should be placed on the rescinding of
driving licenses when necessary, as well as driver education
and retesting of habitual offenders. In addition, when a
license is rescinded, the owner's vehicle should be
impounded, for this is a cheaper and more efficient system
than imprisonment of the offender. Change of the system of
enforcement is especially important as it applies to young
drivers: they are the highest risk group.
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