A national police operation, carried out by GNR and BT officers over the four-day carnival period, has been pronounced a success. The operation covered the whole of Portugal and involved police officers constantly patrolling the country’s roads.
“We were surprised by the amount of people who paid attention to the roads and respected the law,” said a BT spokesman. There was a significant decrease in the registered number of road-related deaths compared to the same period in 2003. Statistics show that during the four-day operation in 2003, there were 12 deaths caused by car or motorbike accidents, including five people who died on the official bank holiday. This year, there were seven deaths and one death occurred during the bank holiday. “We haven’t heard of any severe accidents occurring today,” said a BT officer on the day of carnival.
However, an increase in the number of minor accidents and injuries was registered. During the operation, the BT registered 46 people who suffered from severe injuries (compared to 45 people in 2003), 401 people who suffered from minor injuries (385 people in 2003) and 1,423 accidents (1,228 last year).
