Intensified Campaign on Secondary Roads

An intensified campaign is running this week and through the weekend focussing on one of the areas of the Spanish road network where more fatalities and serious injuries take place, conventional roads.

In 2015, there were 23,729 injury incidents on conventional roads, in which 971 people lost their lives, almost 3 people for every day of the year, a figure which saw 14 more people die than the year before. In addition to the deaths, 3,780 people were injured to such a degree that they required hospital attention.

As a result, the DGT looks at these roads with a watchful eye, hoping to educate drivers of the risks associated with these roads, and how driving attitude must change in order to reduce the number of incidents.

During the week-long campaign, which runs through to Sunday the 9^th of October, officers from the Guardia Civil traffic department, supported by colleagues from the local and regional police, monitoring for the three most common contributing factors to road traffic incidents, which are inappropriate or excessive speed, use of alcohol and drugs, and distractions such as using a mobile phone. In addition, the officers will be monitoring for incorrect overtaking, driving too close, the wearing of seatbelts, child restraint systems and crash helmets, and that the driver´s and vehicle´s documentation are correct and valid.

In addition to an increase in roadside checks, the DGT´s helicopters will be in the air monitoring traffic, including those fitted with the Pegasus detection equipment, capable of monitoring speed, incorrect driving practices and the wearing of safety systems, all from a distance far beyond detection by the driver.

Of the 165,000 kilometres of major roads, some 149,500 kilometres are on sections classed as conventional. They pose a significant risk for a number of reasons including hills and bends, the necessity to invade the opposite on-coming lane in order to overtake, and junctions which pose a major risk when traffic joins or leaves the main carriageway.

Some of the most dangerous sections of roads have been identified by the DGT and carry additional warnings, many of the most dangerous sections are already focussed on by patrols, in addition to this intensified campaign.

The DGT have also lent radar-equipped vehicles to some local police forces to assist them in monitoring the road sections. These silver vehicles are branded with the “DGT” logo, carry blue warning lights and are fully equipped to monitor the road sections once the officers are trained, increasing the network of surveillance to wherever they might benefit.

Jaime Moreno, Deputy Director of Mobility Management with the DGT met the press to explain more about this campaign in Spanish.