Recently, a 47-year old motorist, driven to a murderous rage by the bad driving of another motorist, chased him for several miles along the waterfront from Alikarnassos to Iraklion swinging an axe. Luckily, Port Authority Police were called and the man was subdued before any mayhem was done…this time!

Road rage, a phenomenon all too familiar in counties like the UK and the US, is becoming a common occurrence in Crete, as well as the rest of the country, as drivers, with nerves already frayed by the country’s financial woes, react more violently to traffic altercations.

“There has been a marked increase in violence between motorists,” said one Iraklion traffic policeman. “Things that, in the past, would have just been verbal arguments are now turning into fist fights, or worse. And, in most cases it’s not between two motorists in a traffic accident, it’s because one driver cuts off another, or parks behind someone else’s car, blocking it in…things like that.”

 The only thing more common than rage on Crete’s roads is the sight of torn and mangled pieces of metal that were once cars.

While the specific figures for Crete were not available, nationwide the number of traffic accidents was up by 8.5 percent this past March compared with March of last year, according to the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT).

In these accidents, 113 people were killed, 124 were seriously injured and 1,495 suffered light injuries.

And, in 2008 there were 1,559 road deaths in this country, which equates to 13.9 road deaths per 100,000 of population, putting Greece at the top of the deadly driving list for all of Europe. In comparison, the UK has an average of only 4.3 road deaths per 100,000 of population in the same year.