Workers Commissions (CCOO) has warned of the danger that several Prefectures of Traffic see each other forced to close per lack of staff. In a statement, the union has warned about the deterioration of the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) and has indicated that in Catalonia the number of vacancies in places of direct attention to citizens up to 75% in Girona, while in Tarragona and Sabadell it exceeds 60%, and in Barcelona and Lleida it is 55%. In addition, he has stated that this situation, added to the privatization of public services essential to guarantee road safety, means that there is “one high risk of increased accidents and dead on the road”. For all of this, he has complained to the Government more resources to cover vacancies and combat accidents.
The union has considered that the lack of personnel “it endangers the attention of citizens in this public service, where examination procedures are carried out, driving licenses and permits, vehicle registrations or transfers, among others”. He pointed out that the current situation means that almost 70% of people who try to get an appointment do not get it, a figure that increases to 90% when it comes to the license exchange procedure.
“The situation is so serious that the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) itself will be seen forced to complete closure of some departments, so citizens would have to travel to other provinces to carry out the corresponding procedures”, the union pointed out.
Along these lines, he pointed out that the deterioration of the body “may imply a brake on one of the country’s economic engines”, since he has assured that the outsourcing of services in the DGT they are being carried out in an autonomous body that is closely linked to the automotive sector, which represents around 10% of the total GDP.
More accidents
In addition, the union has stated that there is “a high risk of increased accidents and deaths on the road” due to the aforementioned lack of personnel and the privatizations of essential public services for road safety, such as Management Centers and helicopter surveillance services. “They are two tools that have been widely demonstrated as pillars of road safety, and that from 1989 managed to reduce by 80% the number of people killed in accidents”, he recalled.
At the same time, he noted that in the eight current centers more than 1,700 cameras, 2,000 information panels and 2,400 data collection stations are monitored, in addition to several areas with reversible lanes. “This allows warnings to be issued and assistance to be sent in cases of accidents”, he indicated.