The National Speed Control System (SINCRO) project has this week taken a firm step closer to being complete after more radars were installed on the country’s roads, including traffic hotspots such as the EN125, in Lagoa, Algarve. However, of the 50 radars that make up the €3.19 million project, around half (21) are in Greater Lisbon, and only 30 actually have fixed radars in them.
Those that do have the speed-control apparatus in them, however, are up and running and issuing fines to any driver who triggers them.
Magazine, Autohoje, explains: “The fact that there are more boxes than radars means that there will be 20 boxes that will be empty (without radar). Drivers, however, will never know which radar might trigger, which reinforces the deterrent aspect of the system.”
While a map on the SINCRO website pinpoints where the radars are, Autohoje states “the fact that, in some places, the way in which these new radars have been installed has created “traps” for drivers, may even lead to an increased risk of accidents.”
The boxes and respective warning signs are being installed on 26 of the country’s busiest roads where putting foot on the accelerator is a regular occurrence – ten of which are in Lisbon – in a bid to reduce speeding and accidents.
The first of the system’s radars was installed in July 2016 on the A5 Cascais-Lisbon motorway, and just under two years later, the network is almost complete.
A radar on the EN125 in Lagoa, Algarve, was one of the latest pieces of equipment to go up, having been installed this past week.
According to a map compiled by Autohoje, there are another two speed cameras in the Algarve region, one in Guia (Albufeira) and another near Faro.
This comes following news this week that the number of fatalities on Portuguese roads has continued to show improvement.
Despite more cars than ever now travelling on Portuguese roads, fatalities caused by collisions dropped to 97 during the first three months of the year. That figure is down more than 10 percent on the same period of last year. Similarly, serious injuries caused by accidents were also down substantially, while the total number of collisions was reduced by more than 1,000 in the first three months of 2017.
Source:- Portugal News
