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The slaughter on Israeli motorways continues when six people were killed in five separate road accidents over the weekend. The most terrifying of all involved a family on their way last Saturday from the city of Holon to visit relatives in Jerusalem. Their Mitsubishi automobile was literally crushed at the Ben Shemen Interchange by the truck’s 55 year old driver who was identified as being from East Jerusalem. The accident claimed the lives of the passenger car’s driver and five year old son, who had to be literally cut and pried out of the wreckage. The diver’s wife and 11 year old son were both injured seriously.

What has made this incident most disturbing was that the truck driver was found to have no less than 190 traffic violations on his record and 17 license suspensions. Yet, despite this he was still driving a heavy commercial vehicle that usually requires passing more involved driving skills examinations in order to receive a proper license. Perhaps more involved in other countries, but not apparently in Israel.

Judging from the truck drivers emotional outbursts, when he was brought kicking and screaming to be arraigned for the killing of the father and son, the man does not appear to be of a normal frame of mind. This is not the first such incident when literally scores of fatal road accidents have been caused by abnormal truck drivers; many of them with inadequate training as well as with a traffic record “a yard long”.

Truck drivers have been responsible for some of the worst road accidents in Israel, with some of the more recent ones involving truck/train accidents. Other accidents involving large trucks and passenger cars have occurred in the Galilee as well as on the Negev/Arava highway where truck drivers often ply these routes in long driving stretches without adequate rest.

Every year, between 450 and 600 people are killed on Israeli motorways; and despite public efforts to stop the carnage, seem to be continuing unabated. The traffic offenders come from all walks of life, including prominent ones like Tel Aviv attorney Dori Klagsbald, whose late model VW Touareg 4X4 slammed into a car being driven by a young woman and her six year old son. Both she and her son were killed instantly, and Klagsbald managed to get off with a 9 month prison sentence and ten year license suspension. This was a small penalty indeed, considering that it resulted in the loss of two lives.

Despite efforts by road safety organizations like Metuna and Or Yarok (Green Light), including the graphic showing of these horrible accidents on TV, the carnage continues. That a person like the truck driver, with no less than 190 violations to his “credit”, could be behind the wheel of any type of vehicle is a wonder in itself. This same driver, amid his curses and screaming, could be heard saying “It’s too bad they didn’t all die” in reference to the mother and son who did survive being literally crushed like an empty beer can.

Perhaps now both governmental authorities and the public at large will decide that the time has come to clamp down on road accidents; and especially the more than 3,000 drivers who still ply the countries roads despite have an average of at least 100 traffic violations on their records. We are in a war, and the ‘enemy’ are non other than ourselves.