Minister of Interior Panche Toshkovski, together with Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski, today, as part of their visit to Veles, visited the modernized command center of the Veles Sector for Internal Affairs, where they were briefed on its operations and marked the launch of the “Safe City” system in the area under the jurisdiction of the Veles Sector for Internal Affairs.
Minister Toshkovski informed that the new command center is located in fully reconstructed and renovated premises that had previously been used by the Ministry of Defence and had subsequently remained unused for approximately 15 to 20 years. By putting these premises back into operation, the Veles Sector for Internal Affairs now has a modern facility from which activities related to the “Safe City” system are carried out.
“Yesterday alone, within a 24-hour period, approximately 124 traffic violations were recorded, while today, so far, I have been informed that around 27 have been recorded. This means that in a day and a half, approximately 150 violations have been recorded in the area covered by the Veles Sector for Internal Affairs, which includes Veles, Kavadarci, Negotino and Demir Kapija. Most of them were for speeding, while three or four were for running a red light. This represents a remarkable improvement in compliance with traffic regulations by Macedonian citizens,” Toshkovski stated.
The Minister emphasized that the primary purpose of the “Safe City” system is not to issue fines or fill the state budget, but to change driving habits and save human lives.
“I would once again like to thank, first and foremost, the Macedonian citizens, because by implementing a system whose primary purpose is to save human lives rather than fill the budget, we have shown that we truly can behave in a European manner. The positive effects of such behavior are a significantly lower number of fatalities, far fewer traffic accidents and considerably fewer negative consequences resulting from non-compliance with traffic regulations,” Toshkovski emphasized.
Referring to the consequences of failing to comply with traffic regulations, the Minister pointed out that tragic road accidents are a reality that can affect anyone. In this context, he referred to yesterday’s traffic accident on the Miladinovci–Airport road, in which two people died at the scene and three others were injured, two of whom are in an extremely serious, life-threatening condition.
“Everything that is happening to us in relation to road traffic accidents is not something distant. It is here, and it can happen to anyone. I repeat, we do not have road traffic accidents with fatal consequences when traffic regulations are respected. This is something that truly needs to reach everyone,” the Minister said.
Toshkovski also expressed his gratitude to the media, socially responsible companies and organizations that have joined the campaign aimed at raising traffic awareness, highlighting the Football Federation of Macedonia and the football players who participated in the promotional campaign encouraging compliance with traffic regulations.
As a particularly significant indicator of the effects of the measures undertaken, the Minister highlighted the figures regarding road traffic fatalities.
“As of the end of August, if we had 96 fatalities last year, this year we have had 61 fatalities over the same period. That is a remarkable difference within a single year. According to the information I receive from experts, if we continue in this direction, with all Macedonian citizens respecting the rules, we can become an example not only in Europe but also worldwide of how, within a very short period, we have managed to reduce the number of fatalities by approximately 40 percent,” Toshkovski stated.
The Minister stressed that all activities, investments and campaigns being undertaken in the field of road safety have one common objective – to make Macedonia a safer country for everyone.
“We are doing all of this for one reason only – to build a country that will be safer for everyone,” Minister Toshkovski concluded.
