Madrid
Updated:05/26/2022 01:37h
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Spain has a very high level of risk in traffic accidents, with factors such as the state of the road, the human and the state of the vehicle as three of the keys that intervene in the accident figures.
This is one of the conclusions of the study “The Traffic Light of Mobility” prepared by the company specialized in road safety Rivekids. According to its CEO, José Lagunar, “We are at a red light, at extreme risk, with a very high level of risk in traffic accidents and to date we do not see any indicator that tells us that this situation is going to reverse.”
In the report, prepared from the data recorded by entities such as the DGT, the Ministry of Transport, the Spanish Road Association and the Spanish Association of Civil Guards, it denounces the existing problems that have to do with the state of the roads, the behavior of drivers and pedestrians, and the general condition of vehicles.
In the first of the sections, the general poor condition of the roads stands out. The study has detected that 10% of the roads present a very poor situation, with a pavement that registers the worst condition in the last 20 years. To this must be added the deficiencies detected in the traffic signs “of which more than 374,000 need to be renewed, and in which we have identified that 72% have expired reflectors,” says Lagunar. The study also reflects that the retaining barriers or guardrails are suspended due to their poor condition “when these passive safety elements are true executioners for vulnerable road users,” he underlines.
As for the traffic agents of the Civil Guard, the report concludes that a significant lack of troops is detected, “and they have fewer resources and less training than ever”, Thus, in 2008 there were more than 10,000 agents, in 2017 there were 8,672 “and currently even less,” says Lagunar.
According to the secretary of the Spanish Association of Civil Guards (AEGC), Fernando García Poves, “it is a situation that we at the Association have been warning about for some time, in relation to four determining factors that are putting road safety at risk: the poor condition of many roads; very old vehicles without proper maintenance; an increase in the disobedience of the most basic traffic regulations and a reduction in traffic agents that makes security tasks on public roads more difficult.
Human factor
García agrees with the conclusions of the report regarding the importance of the human factor in accidents, pointing out a lack of knowledge and repeated non-compliance with the main traffic regulations. In this sense, it has been detected that 74% of traffic accident victims are the result of non-compliance with traffic regulations. In this section, José Lagunar warns that “pedestrians are also responsible for their own safety when using public roads. Oversights, reckless actions, deliberate violation of the rules or excesses are many factors in which road coexistence can endanger road safety. Thus, it has been detected that 49% of the pedestrians killed in traffic accidents were not complying with any rule.
It is also detected that road safety advertising campaigns “are not connecting with people, and have a bad result, because they fail to reduce the numbers of accidents and deaths.”
Other deficiencies are that the measures for obtaining a driving license and its renewal have a wide margin for improvement and demand, and driver education in any facet of life is not regulated and is taught by minority groups. It lacks evaluation and follow-up, depending on the will of these groups rather than on any public administration.
Finally, regarding the «vehicle factor», it is confirmed that 40% of the cars that circulate on Spanish roads have not passed the ITV, and the age of the fleet is very high, with an average of 13 years and 39.6 % of the mobile fleet with more than 15 years, this is 9.7 million.
This age is reflected in the accident rate because, according to data provided by the Foundation for Road Safety, Fesvial, at 70 km/h, the braking distance of an old car with worn wheels is up to 53% higher than the of the same car with the tires in good condition. In addition, the accidents of old cars have 23% more incidents related to tires and 68% regarding brakes.
The Traffic Light of Road Safety, in terms of the vehicle factor, is strongly determined by the state in which a car is found. The traffic light is red, because in Spain “there is no proper maintenance of the vehicle, a correct state of tires, brakes or suspensions,” says Lagunar.
The latest figures from the DGT
According to the General Directorate of Traffic, during the month of April there have been 90 fatal accidents in which 99 people have died, this is 25 more than in the same month of 2019.
This accident rate has occurred in a context of a greater number of trips (+6%); Specifically, 37.6 million long-distance movements were registered throughout the month, compared to 35.4 million in April 2019.
A total of 76 deaths are as a result of accidents that occurred on conventional roads, compared to the 23 that were recorded on high-capacity roads (highways or motorways), a common figure.
Depending on the type of accident, and according to the latest figures from the DGT, collisions increased from 38 fatalities in April 2019 to 46 this year. Road exits also increased with 36 deaths, compared to the 26 registered in the month of April 2019.
According to the means of displacement, if the records for April are compared, with the same month of 2019, the vulnerable deaths increased (38 compared to 23) and very significantly in motorcycles and pedestrians. Regarding the use of safety systems, 16 deceased were not wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident.
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