In the scope of the European road safety charter, Croatia has also committed itself to promote safety of road traffic. Thus the EU leaflet cautioning the readers about the most common causes of traffic accidents, which can easily be avoided, have been distributed along all motorways in Croatia.

Safety is the highest priority issue in the European Union. It is also of utmost significance to all Croatian motorways companies involved in the management and operation of motorway traffic. By their very concept, motorways have been conceived as roadways offering the highest level of safety and comfort, and so we can rightly state that motorways are the safest mode of road transport currently available to the users. Statistics prove that motorways are 4 times safer than other roads. However, the driving process involves interaction among the driver, road, weather conditions and other participants in motorway traffic therefore the resposibility of the person driving a car is crucial.

Accidents happening on motorways are mostly due to:

• excess speeding; driving above the maximum speed limit and not adapted to the road conditions is a life hazard as it does not allow proper reaction to unpredictable situations. Maximum speed limit on motorways in Croatia is 130km/h
• fatigue; a prolonged driving on motorways can be monotonous and tiring and, in such instances, drivers should stop and rest - the basic recommendation is to just doze off for 10-15 minutes
• not keeping the distance; this is very common cause of accidents therefore keep the distance
• drunk driving ; alcohol will certanly reduce your awareness and capacity of your reflexes
• irregular overtaking; overtaking without prior checking and giving an overtaking signal, and right-lane overtaking, is prohibited
• not wearing a seat belt
• driving in the wrong direction; drivers should always be calm and collected and should note and respect all traffic signs
• driving a defective or unchecked vehicle
• starting a car trip during traffic congestion times; results in minor time savings and major loss of temper

The above mentioned causes of accidents result in serious consequences that sometimes are fatal: skidding off the roadway, crashes into metal safety barrier, chain collision etc.

Therefore take responsibility for your own life.

In the scope of its Action plan, the European Union has introduced a number of incentives aimed at improving safety of road traffic.

The sad fact is that in 2001 as many as 50,000 people have lost their lives in road traffic accidents across Europe. Although the number of fatalities has been somewhat reduced in some countries over the past several years, an overall death toll is still too high. The EU will take every measure possible to halve the number of road fatalities by the year 2010. ASECAP took an active stand in the promotion of road traffic safety and signed with the European Commission in April 2004 in Dublin the European road safety charter entitled "25,000 lives to save".

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