AFTER returning from a weekend spent at the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park (PNALM), we decided to launch a new appeal to the municipalities of Gioia dei Marsi, Pescasseroli, Opi, Campoli Appenninico, Civitella Alfedena, and Villetta Barrea.
This is yet another request similar to those that, in past years, we, other associations and dozens of private citizens have sent, unfortunately to no avail, to the same municipal administrations and the Prefecture of L’Aquila to control motorcycle traffic on SP83. In the two days that have just passed we have detected a situation that is completely out of control, even worse than a few years ago: the vast majority of the hundreds of motorcyclists who travel the artery that crosses the PNALM do not respect the speed limit or, worse, engage in real races in which they “cut corners” and overtake each other, putting at serious risk anyone who travels along the SP83 , from cyclists to cars.
We wonder if this area is now considered by the Carabinieri, local law enforcement and the Prefecture as a “Free Zone” in which the Highway Code does not apply, or if they have simply abdicated their role as controllers and guarantors of compliance with the law and the safety of non-cyclists.
A road that winds through a National Park, in a special and precious environment, where wildlife often crosses the roadway, with groups of bicyclists and tourists riding up it obeying the speed limit, deserves even more careful control by those in authority. Instead, the absence of such controls conveys a sense of substantial impunity to those who, ignoring all rules, endanger the safety of all other users
No one wants to criminalize an entire category, but it is clear that a tightening of controls and heavy penalties are needed for those who do not respect traffic laws and common sense. As we have proposed in the past, we are again calling for the establishment of a quota number of vehicles on weekends with entry toll booths from Campoli, Barrea and Gioia. A proposal, this one, that already finds application in natural settings such as those in the U.S. National Parks as well as in historic cities such as Venice. Abruzzo, on the contrary, continues to behave as a no man’s land where anyone can do as they please without risking even a fine!
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