there were 2,070 deaths
resulting from about 5,300 reported accidents. Only about 40 percent of
the victims were occupants of the vehicles involved and, of them, a
considerably larger number of passengers than drivers were killed.
Nearly 50 percent of the total fatalities were pedestrians; the
remainder were on bicycles or wagons.

Considering accident statistics higher than warranted by the rising
volume of traffic, the regime had enacted a series of stricter control
measures, the bulk of them in 1968. Officials analyzing the problem
attributed most of the poor record to disregard for driving regulations
and inadequate traffic controls. Excessive speed had accounted for about
40 percent of the accidents. Driving under the influence of alcohol,
failure to pay attention, and failure to yield the right of way
accounted, in that order, for most of the others. Drivers were blamed
for about 65 percent of accidents, pedestrians for 31 percent, and
malfunction of vehicles for 4 percent. Accidents in which alcohol was a
factor tended to be the most serious. One in every 2.3 alcohol-related
accidents resulted in a fatality.

After 1968 the more stringent regulations and measures to enforce them
began to yield results. By 1970, although both the numbers of local
automobiles and tourist traffic had continued to increase steadily,
accidents had decreased by 8 percent; and deaths and injuries from them
were down by 7 and 8 percent, respectively. Officials gave credit to an
educational program in secondary schools, the beginnings of a vehicle
inspection program, and positive actions taken to reduce driving after
drinking, as well as to the new regulations and enforcement efforts.
During 1970 the militia suspended about 20,000 operators' licenses,
canceling a number of them.

Penal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure

The penal code in effect before 1968 was one of the most severe in
Europe. The penal code and the code of criminal procedure that have
replaced it attempt to ensure that criminals are not able to evade the
penalties provided for in the law but, at the same time, there is a
stated guarantee against the arrest, trial, or conviction of innocent
persons. Protective measures for accused persons are to be respected by
all law enforcement and judicial agencies.

It is emphasized that an individual is found guilty according to the
relevant evidence in his case. Courts are instructed to base sentences
on the crime, rather