Residents and professional organizations on Crete blamed the slow progress of road construction for the dozens of road fatalities in recent years, following the recent death of three people in a head-on collision.

Locals complain that it has taken 20 years and three phases of European Union funding to build 50 kilometers of a 312-kilometer road network on Crete’s northern coast.

 “The island’s road network is of a Third World standard,” said Antonis Pitaridakis, president of a local office of the Technical Chamber of Greece. “Our so-called national road network is narrow, dangerous, poorly lit and badly maintained.”

At the same time, Yiannis Lionakis, director of the ELPA road assistance group in Iraklion, said “Crete is in urgent need of new roads, otherwise lives will continue to be lost.”

“The number of cars on Cretan roads has increased nearly six-fold to 600,000 over the past 40 years but the roads have not been upgraded to handle the extra traffic,” he said.