During the past year, marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, 1,370 people lost their lives in traffic accidents (6,681 had to be hospitalised because of an accident), according to the balance of the General Directorate of Traffic. It is the lowest figure since records began and includes people who died on interurban and urban roads during the 30 days after the accident occurred.
The decrease in the death toll occurred in a context of a reduction in long-distance trips, which stood at 25%, caused by the mobility restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while the automotive fleet stood at 36,158,465 vehicles, 1% more than in 2019.
The death rate stood at 29 deaths per million inhabitants, one of the lowest in the European Union in 2020, only behind Sweden (18), Malta (21) and Denmark (27). The average rate for the countries of the European Union was 42. In the European Union as a whole, the mortality rate per million inhabitants decreased by 17% between 2019 and 2020, while in Spain this reduction was 22%.
The Road Safety Strategy 2011-2020 set the value of 37 as the maximum mortality rate in 2020, a value that was already reached in 2019.
X-ray of the accident rate
The number of deceased people decreased by 22% compared to 2019, although the reduction has been somewhat higher in cities (-24%) than on the road (-21%). On urban roads, there were 395 deaths, while on interurban roads, the number of people killed was below 1,000 victims for the first time, with 975, which represents a reduction of 21% compared to 2019. Furthermore, in Interurban roads, there is a greater decrease in deaths on highways and motorways (-35%) than on conventional roads (-16%).
For the fifth consecutive year, distractions were the most frequent factor in fatal accidents (they were present in 31% of them), followed by alcohol consumption (present in 27%) and speed (present in 25%). Distraction shows an increase of 3 points compared to 2019, while alcohol and speed show an increase of 2 points.
If we take into account the mode of travel, the largest declines in accidents occurred among van users (54 deaths in 2020, compared to 80 in 2019), pedestrians (260 deaths in 2020, compared to 381 in 2019, 32% less) and motorcyclists (345 deaths, including mopeds, 26% less than in 2019), although the decrease in pedestrians was concentrated on urban roads (-38%) and motorcyclists on interurban roads (-34%).
Among those that had a smaller decrease in their accident figures, the following stand out: the reduction from 80 to 71 cyclist deaths, the reduction of 15% in the number of deaths in passenger cars and the reduction of users of trucks weighing more than 3,500 kg (from 55 died in 2019 to 45 in 2020).
Overall, the vulnerable users who died (pedestrians, cyclists, users of personal mobility vehicles and motorcyclists) were reduced by 26% and account for 50% of the people who died.
Differences depending on the type of road
As previously indicated, on interurban roads there has been a 35% reduction in fatalities in the case of highways and motorways, compared to the lower reduction in conventional roads (-16%). The most frequent fatal accidents on interurban roads continue to be exits (42% of people killed) and head-on collisions (20%).
On interurban roads, the only means of transport in which there was an increase in the number of deaths was on bicycles (+2 deaths). The accident rate for motorcyclists (-34%), which accounted for 1 in 5 people deceased (compared to 1 in 4 in 2019), and van users (-24 deceased) decreased notably. Those who reduced their accident rate the least were the occupants of passenger cars (-17%) and trucks weighing more than 3,500 kg (-9 deaths).
In the case of urban roads, the concern is focused on vulnerable users, since, despite the 26% decrease compared to 2019, they accounted for 80% of the deaths, distributed as follows: 153 pedestrians, 21 cyclists, 7 users of personal mobility vehicles and 134 motorcyclists (including mopeds). The increases in the number of deaths occurred in passenger cars (+2 deaths) and in trucks up to 3,500 kg (+1 deceased).
It is also worth highlighting the small decrease in the number of motorcyclist deaths (-9%), compared to the decrease experienced in interurban roads (-34%), although the behaviour of motorcyclists and mopeds was different on urban roads: greater decrease in road users. deceased mopeds (from 22 to 13), compared to motorcycle users (from 126 to 121 in 2020, a reduction of 4%).
Pedestrians who died experienced the largest decrease, 38%. It should be noted that 65% of the pedestrians who died were 65 years of age or older, highlighting the decline from 75 years of age, a population that has gone from 134 deaths in 2019 to 72 in 2020.
Other aspects to highlight
In all the months of 2020, with the exception of September, there were fewer deaths than in 2019. The greatest reductions: in April (-65%), May (-49%) and March (-43%).
The greatest decreases occurred in the periods with the greatest mobility restrictions. Thus, between March 14 (beginning of the first state of alarm) and May 3, the decrease was 72%; between May 4 (beginning of the Plan for the Transition to a New Normal) and June 30, -37%.
All age groups register decreases in the number of deaths with respect to 2019. It is worth noting the reductions that have occurred in the age groups between 0 and 14 years (from 32 deaths in 2019 to 17 in 2020), 45 and 54 years (-28%) and those over 65 years or more (-26%).
Deceased women were reduced by 28% compared to 2019, compared to a decrease of 20% in men.
In all the communities the number of deaths was reduced, except for Aragon (+5), Castilla-La Mancha (+3) and Ceuta and Melilla (+1). The greatest reductions were registered in the Basque Country (from 65 in 2019 to 42 in 2020), Comunidad Foral de Navarra (from 31 to 20), Comunidad de Madrid (-34%), Cataluña (-33%), and Canarias (de 74 to 50).
The general director of traffic Pere Navarro has indicated that “these figures are a consequence of the exceptional situation experienced in 2020; now, our efforts must be aimed at preventing a return to the old normality in terms of road accidents”.
Together with the consolidated data on fatal accidents, in 2020 there were a total of 72,959 traffic accidents with victims in Spain, in which, in addition to the 1,370 people who lost their lives, 94,562 were injured, of which 6,681 required hospital admission. The consolidated figures will be published in the statistical yearbooks of the General Directorate of Traffic.
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