"The results of road accidents since the onset of 2008 are horrendous. This must be stopped," was the opening statement of Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz an emergency session of the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), held last week in Tel Aviv.

The NRSA called the emergency meeting in view of the grim statistics of the past two months - 63 people were killed in road accidents since the beginning of 2008, 22 of them were pedestrians.

Mofaz called on the mayors and municipal heads attending the meet to devise an overall plan to fight road accidents, with special focus on pedestrian safety.

"We are all responsible," said Mofaz, adding "45 fatalities a month is unacceptable." 

According to perennial data gathered by the NRSA and Israel's Highway Police, 74% of all road accidents in Israel - and 62% of all serious accidents - happen in urban areas. These accidents claim the lives of 41% off all road accidents' fatalities and 73% of all pedestrian fatalities.

The grim data further revealed that 60% of all fatalities in urban accidents are children.

The increasing number of road accidents' fatalities has prompted the National Road Safety Authority and Israel's Highway Police to launch a special enforcement program aimed at urban areas; the one-month program will be held in various cities during March.

The transportation minister used the conference to call on those serving as Traffic Court judges, to impose harsher sentences on traffic offenders.

"Traffic Court judges must share our concern for human lives... I call on them - please lend us your support. Do not leave us to fight this battle on out own."

Mofaz went on to quote several cases in which dangerous traffic offenders were let off by the courts with either light or no sentences.

"We will not let this become the norm; we will not let this hinder our efforts to fight road accidents," said Mofaz, adding his ministry will do everything possible to ensure those deemed dangerous drivers are never found behind the wheel of a car again.