Lisbon, April 15, 2026 (Lusa) – The interior minister said on Wednesday that there is behaviour on Portugal’s roads that is “objectively criminal”, noting that road safety “is a national scourge that demands a response from everyone”.
“Enough is enough. We will not accept this. Road accidents cannot headline the news like a murder or a terrorist attack. But these are violent deaths, serious injuries, lives cut short forever,” said Luís Neves at the inauguration ceremony for the new president of the National Road Safety Authority (ANSR), Pedro Clemente, where he announced several measures to reduce accidents on Portuguese roads.
According to the minister, most accidents are linked to human factors such as speed, alcohol, distraction, and a lack of awareness and civic-mindedness.
"We also know that there are acts that are objectively criminal. I’m not trying to dramatise the situation; it’s objective, it’s real. There are acts that are criminal and must be treated as such. We are also working closely with the public prosecutor’s office on this," he explained.
Luís Neves said that road accidents “are a national scourge that demands a response from everyone”, adding that there will be “a redoubled effort in terms of enforcement and also raising awareness”.
The minister noted that Portugal has “too many accidents” and “excessive risk-taking behaviour”.
“The latest figures worry us greatly, very greatly indeed. Portugal records 58 deaths per million inhabitants, above the European average of 45. We are sixth out of 27 countries in terms of mortality rate. Even more worrying is that we have been on a path of stagnation for several years,” he stated.
The minister lamented that “recent signs are exacerbating the concern”, pointing out that “in the first quarter of this year alone, fatalities rose by 22%” and that in April the number of victims continues to rise.
According to the minister, “from 1 January until Monday, 145 people had already died on Portuguese roads, 42 more than in the same period last year”, meaning that “in just a few months, a small village in the Portuguese countryside has vanished”.
The minister also pointed out that a substantial proportion of the most serious accidents occur on urban roads and added that “we cannot continue to have people killed on pedestrian crossings where red lights are brazenly ignored”.
Faced with this “tragic reality of road accidents”, the government has announced a series of measures, such as the reactivation of the Republican Guard Traffic Brigade almost 20 years after it was disbanded, a new Highway Code, increased enforcement, with ‘stop-and-check’ operations to be carried out without prior warning, more speed cameras, broader criteria for the revocation of driving licences, and harsher penalties for drink-driving.
“We will be strict with those who do not change [their behaviour on the roads]. We will be firm and unyielding. Because no life should be lost due to a criminal act, indifference, negligence or irresponsibility,” he added, acknowledging that this change “will take a long time”.
CMP/MYAL // AYLS
Lusa
