New government road safety plan.

The new strategy of the executive led by Prime Minister Mario Draghi was presented by the Minister of Infrastructure and Sustainable Mobility Enrico Giovannini, who spoke at a conference on the occasion of the World Day in memory of road victims.

Many interventions are planned: from the renewal of the car fleet to the strengthening of maintenance up to investments in training.

For the holder of the department, achieving the goal of zero deaths "is not impossible".

Giovannini aims to discuss the draft with associations and experts in the near future and then "proceed quickly". An urgency given by an emergency situation - that of road accidents - which has not been stemmed even by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Now in 2021, with the resumption of activities, "we must address these aspects in a structural way, knowing that every avoidable victim is a victim for which we must bear the responsibility", explained the minister.

Among the central points of the strategy, there is that relating to the replacement of the cars currently in circulation. "We have a very old fleet of cars. We have to proceed with a replacement because too many cars, buses and heavy vehicles are not equipped with adequate safety tools. We must work with the manufacturers and encourage this replacement with incentives", underlined Giovannini.

'' This government for the first time, in consideration of the economic difficulties that many families have faced, has also provided incentives for the purchase of second-hand cars, provided they are recent. It is a way to accelerate this double transition: ecological and for road safety. The fact that these incentives have been exhausted very quickly has forced a new opening of the terms and new to financing and makes us understand that there is also a desire to have safer cars as long as there are the economic possibilities to do so '', he added. .

Another important element is that of the poor maintenance of the roads. "For too many years there has been a lack of adaptation for safety, especially on provincial, regional and municipal roads. We have foreseen an investment of over three billion for regional and provincial ones because safety also involves the adaptation of our roads", he said. highlighted the minister.