Kosovo Police report that 50 people have died in traffic accidents across the country in the past six months.
High officials of the Kosovo Police discussed the increase in the number of fatal accidents in a press conference on Tuesday, while warning that they will increasing fines.
“Since January 1, 2021 until June 7, there have been 44 fatal accidents [in Kosovo], while during the same period in 2019, 31 fatal accidents occurred. 50 persons have lost their lives during [these months], compared to 37 who died over the same period in 2019,” stated Jeton Rexhepi of the Road Traffic Division.
Kosovo Police did not release data for 2020 since, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kosovo was mostly under lockdown during the year.
This Sunday alone, five citizens died in two separate traffic accidents, one man in Gllogovc and a family of four, including a child, in Ferizaj.
In its daily report released on Tuesday, Kosovo Police reported that only during the last 24 hours, there had been 27 traffic accidents resulting in injuries and 53 resulting in material damages.
The General Director of the Kosovo Police, Samedin Mehmeti, said that the authorities will digitalize traffic in an effort to address this issue. Specifically, fines will be charged to drivers automatically, without a police officer needing to stop the car.
“We have started on the project, and we are working to have these tools [available] as soon as possible,” Mehmeti said.
