Road traffic management

You’ve started your commute to work. Your mobile app tells you it will take 1 hour and 45 minutes to reach your destination. Athens resembles a vast parking lot. All major roads, even neighborhood streets, are clogged with traffic, and you long for the days when the same journey took only 20 minutes.

Traffic regulations will be in place in Athens on Thursday, due to the celebration of the city’s patron saint and the procession of the Holy Icon of St. Dionysius of Areopagitos.

Trains overflowing with the city's denizens and tourists. Buses clanking along as they shift from first to second gear or idling on streets bottle-necked by a crash up ahead, a protest rally, fans of a sports event, roadworks - there's always something. Traffic jams stretching for kilometers are back. 

Specifically, on Wednesday, September 18, vehicles collided near the KTEL Kifisou area in the direction towards Piraeus.

In a second incident, two vehicles collided on Kifisou Avenue near Iera Odos, in the direction towards Lamia.

Road accidents in Greece are increasingly taking on the characteristics of a war between the pedestrian and the driver. Data from the traffic police confirm what we experience every day. In the first five months of 2024, the number of pedestrians hit by a moving vehicle in the country came to 653, of whom 27 lost their lives and another 26 were seriously injured.

If there’s one accessory common to all modern cars, it’s cup holders. “And now, what will happen to the cup holders that will remain empty of coffee?” Greek drivers wonder in light of the new Road Code provision, which imposes a €100 fine and a 30-day driving license suspension for those who drive while drinking coffee. However, this is the least of the concerns for “reckless” drivers.

Police in Attica conducted around 52,500 traffic inspections and issued almost 18,000 fines for various motoring offenses over the summer.

In the three months from June to August, police issued over 8,800 fines for failing to wear a helmet, almost 2,500 for not using a seat belt, 1,500 for speeding, 117 for dangerous maneuvers and 80 for "showing off."

Another accident, the third in a row today, occurred on the Kefiso, on the road to Lamia, when a lorry overturned under unknown circumstances.

The plan to set certain limits on cruise ship and passenger numbers is an indication that the government has started to acknowledge the distortions that stem from out-of-control tourism - especially when the crowding and congestion it causes far outweigh any benefits. 

Ships are departing from Piraeus Port for island destinations with high occupancy rates as the first wave of August vacationers leaves the capital.

Watch live traffic updates on the roads

Since early morning, traffic has been heavy, with ships heading to the Cyclades and the Dodecanese islands departing with high occupancy rates.