Anastasia Balezdrova
Two weeks ago, an overpass, "The overpass of dreams" was opened on one of the most noisy and busy avenues in Athens. For the students at Psychico College, this is the overpass of Solon - a 15-year-old kid whose life was taken by a speeding car, jumping the red light. Four days later, the child died in hospital and his parents donated his organs to save other children.
Several days later, engineer Phaedon Karidakis, as Solon's father is known, attended the first meeting for the construction of an overpass on the avenue in front of the school to prevent having victims. Here is his story to GRReporter.
"Just two years ago, on December 4, the school had organized a Christmas celebration. My son, along with other classmates of his left late in the evening, at about 11 pm, to go to the party. In their attempt to cross the avenue to the school, a car dragged one of the four friends and left him. He was immediately transported to hospital and lived four more days on mechanical support. During those days, all the pupils from the school held a protest in the form of a "white" strike. They went to school but did not attend the classes. After Solon had gone, the school administration influenced, among other things by what had happened, but apart from that, decided to build a pedestrian overpass. On 11 December, 2009, all children organized and supported by the administration of the school, "took over" Kifissias Avenue for about an hour. They were holding slogans in their hands, demonstrating their right to life. There was a very smart panel reading, "Place a bridge for our dreams."
The president of the Foundation, running the College, called me immediately to take part in the design of the overpass. When I got into the project, they had already found a sponsor, Mr. Prokopiou. His daughter was also studying at the College and all the organization moved him. We began working immediately. I remember that the protest of the children on the avenue was on Friday, December 11, and on Monday, December 14, we held the first meeting to design the overpass. So, we began - a group of people ready to start a project, and a major sponsor. In the course of the project, we had many offers of assistance. In very few cases, the work was not entirely voluntary. Even the materials were very often donated.
Within one year, we were faced with a lot of problems. I would like to stress that we were not confronted with anyone opposing the construction at any time. The problem was in the vast bureaucracy, mostly due to the lack of a legal framework for a public project located in a public place but designed, built, financed and maintained by private owners. We lost almost a year to eliminate this obstacle and due to all the bureaucratic procedures. In practice, there has been new legislation in the form of presidential decrees.
Last year at this time, we were ready to start. Then again, we lost about five months, because it is a very central place and many networks are there: sanitation, electrification, communications, fiber optics, mobile operators, natural gas. Although we tried to have minimum contact with the surface to minimize this problem in the original plan, we lost this time. In practice, we started the construction in late March 2011. Some parts were made before that elsewhere and we were able to build the overpass in a very short period of time. We finished the site on 11 November, 2011 and organized a modest ceremony, and before the official opening, the overpass was submitted to the students themselves. They went through the overpass and thus, we submitted it to them. Earlier, we had several meetings in which we informed them of the reason of the initiative and we have seen the love and tenderness with which they took the site.
It is a touching common enterprise. Indeed, some of us were ahead, but the important thing is that everyone engaged in its implementation with much affection. We have made that overpass which is an innovation at international level. It is not only an achievement and a landmark in the area; it is a monument of love and cooperation, and of the memory of a child who passed away.
What is innovative about the overpass?
One of the main problems with an overpass is its height. When built over a busy avenue like Kifissias, it has to be high to allow the cars to pass underneath it. The overpass must be over five metres high, i.e. we are talking about a height of over two floors. When we started designing the overpass and when we looked at the other overpasses on the avenue, we asked ourselves whether a child would climb up and go down three floors without being swept away by the idea of crossing the avenue quickly. We focused all our efforts on making the overpass attractive to those who will use it. Changes in the neighborhood were made for this purpose. The street that starts from the exit of the school has been made a one-way road and we were able to turn the other part of the street into a sidewalk. Thus, the children reach the overpass only by walking on it. There a platform waits for them to take them up gradually. We also had the opportunity to install luxury facilities such as escalators, but only moving up. There are elevators for people who cannot use either the ramp or the escalators. And now, I could say that I am glad when I see the children using the overpass in the morning and in the evening.
How long was this overpass necessary while the state did nothing about it?
Well, we are putting the finger on the sore spot. From the moment Kifissias became a high-speed traffic avenue, it was not possible to secure places for crossing it, especially in areas where there are schools. A graph of the World Health Organisation describes the probability of inducing death when a car hits a pedestrian. If the speed is 70 km/h, which is allowed on Kifissias Avenue, the probability of killing a pedestrian is 100 percent. At the beginning and end of the school day, there are large groups of pupils at the specific location hurrying to go to school or leave it. They gather on very narrow walkways between cars racing at very high speeds, while traffic-controllers are trying to help the cars to empty the avenue. This is a chain of death. We are very lucky that we had no more casualties, God also loves children.
The need is great and common. When we made a public presentation of the project, the then Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Networks, Dimitris Repas, admitted that such overpasses were necessary and promised to build another 20 overpasses in various locations. Of course, it remained only intention, especially in today's economic climate. It is also positive that the state recognizes the existence of this serious problem. We offered to help with specifications and technical assistance. Indeed, the situation today is difficult, but the construction of such facilities is one of the intentions of the ministry.
During the preparation of the Olympics, it was planned for the boulevard to pass under the ground at this location, but it did not happen due to the lack of resources and because some residents reacted negatively, and I did not understand why.
You are a member of the organization SOS - traffic violations. What are your activities in favour of traffic safety?
We live in a world fully devoted to cars. I will share how I started looking at things quite differently, after my bitter experience. When both my children were small, I was also influenced by the ads for cars and bought that one that was considered the safest for people. I had to survive the loss of my son to understand that safety, as far as it exists, is only for the people in the car. The safest car in the world is also the most deadly tool in the hands of a bad driver. I was the same, I do not hide it. In fact, none of us realizes what a dangerous "weapon" we have in our hands. The pattern imposed on young people is that to have the fastest, if not the most aggressive car, is indicative of their masculinity. It is terribly difficult to realize how dangerous it is for the surrounding people.
I have changed my habits because I know that if I hit a child at a speed of 70 km/h, even with the most secure car, I will kill him or her. Unfortunately, society is not aware of that. This is one of the main objectives of the association: Car accidents are a scourge; they are the first cause of death in people aged under 35 years.
The second reason, which I think is very important, is the complete lack of justice in cases of accidents. This is not about revenge. I am not saying we should hang someone because I lost my child. It leads nowhere. Simply, it is not possible for people to not understand that when we move into a space we take responsibility for that. We are not for "show" penalties. We would like to make it clear that ignoring social responsibility has consequences. Currently, the only consequence for a person who causes death while driving a vehicle, regardless of whether the driver went through the red light or drove above the permitted speed, is increased road insurance. This sounds awful, but it is a fact. These people are convicted of manslaughter, with no regard to the causes or deaths caused. The highest penalty is five years imprisonment. The average penalty imposed does not exceed 1.5 to 2 years of probation. Nobody says that these people should rot, or even go to jail. But on the other hand, they should not go unpunished. They should be forced to understand what they did through taking part in social life by providing community service. It is unthinkable to have such impunity.
If we are talking about the motor vehicle liability insurance I can say that the ruled amounts are much lower than the ceiling, which covers the insurance. Not to mention that even in the most common procedures, these people are not deprived of their driving licenses. There are penalties for going through the red light, but no administrative consequences are provided. The motor vehicle liability insurance is always much lower than the insurance and the company simply registers the accident and the insurance increases by one percentage point. This is unfortunate because ways could really be found to integrate these people into society and to realize what had happened. It should take the form of "I did something wrong, I understand that and inform other people." Personally, I understand it from the way people tell me about how to drive."
At the end of our conversation, Phaedon Karidakis stressed how important it is for a person to set high goals, however difficult they may seem. "When we started to build the overpass, people asked me many times whether I believed it would happen. I would like to quote Che Guevara, "Let's be realistic and look for the impossible." After expressing his gratitude to all who helped building the overpass, he repeated that all, especially young people, should understand that both their and other people's lives are in their hands. "This is a value and few people realize its size. I already know and try to tell others. The price that some people have to pay for the negligence of others is very high. Therefore, society has to realize this."
He gave as an example, although very bitter, an incident, while his son was in the hospital. "When Solon was in intensive care, people's fear of bird flu and vaccines was in full swing. The discussion was about whether to be vaccinated or not, many people had died from the vaccine, etc. One day, there was a doctor who brought vaccines. A colleague of his asked him what to do to prevent getting the flu. And he answered, "Cars. While we are talking, in our hospital ten children have died due to accidents. However, nobody talks about them." Two thousand people lose their lives in this way each year, without anyone knowing about it. The doctor said, "Do not talk about the flu, but be careful with the cars."
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