“Let’s make Big Data wrong”, the new DGT campaign for Easter

“Let’s make Big Data wrong” is the slogan of the new awareness campaign to avoid traffic incidents that the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) has presented for Holy Week, a period in which there is an increase in movements, both long like short haul.

After two years, in which this holiday period has been conditioned by the Coronavirus pandemic, this year forecasts suggest that 14.6 million long-distance trips may be produced on our roads.

To avoid traffic incidents, the DGT has turned to one of the most important Big Data analysts in Spain who, with more than 10 million traffic accidents and through algorithms and mathematical models, has calculated the number of deaths on the road this Holy Week.

According to this expert, there will be 36 people with different profiles who will die this holiday because Big Data, algorithms and statistics predict everything: age, how many men, women or children, in what place and at what time, what type of incidents and with what a vehicle… but if we know that we are within the profile of the people who are most likely to die and we are aware of it, we can avoid it and make Big Data wrong”.

According to Pere Navarro, director of the DGT “when they tell you that 36 people are going to die this holiday on the road, you never think that it will be you or someone in your family, but behind each statistic there are names, parents, partners, friends, grandchildren… a real drama that is difficult to overcome; therefore this Easter and always, let’s abide by the rules to make Big Data wrong “.

For the campaign, which will run until 19 April, two adverts of 45 and 30 seconds were created for television and social networks. In addition, a graphic for the written press and different pieces for networks have been created.

One device, two phases

For this Holy Week, the DGT forecasts that 14.6 million long-distance journeys will take place, 2.10% less than those that occurred in Holy Week 2019.

To ensure the safety and fluidity of traffic, the DGT has prepared a special device that will began at 3:00 p.m. on Friday, and end at 11:59 p.m. on Monday 18^th April.

This operation, one of the most conflictive of the year, due to the multitude of trips that take place in a short space of time, with similar origins and destinations and carried out on the same days and times, will be carried out in two phases, which coincide with the days with the greatest number of trips and on which almost 90% of the planned movements are concentrated.

• The first phase, which took place last weekend, forecasted 3.7 million trips on the road.
• The second phase, considered the most important due to the volume of vehicle movements along the entire road network, will begin on Wednesday, April 13, except in Catalonia, which will begin the following day.

This second phase will end at midnight on Monday, April 18 with the return operation, an operation that will take place from Saturday afternoon and will continue throughout Sunday and Easter Monday, since in the Balearic Islands, Catalonia, Valencian Community, Navarra, Basque Country and La Rioja, the Monday is a holiday.

In the rest of the communities, despite not being a holiday, it is a non-school day for schoolchildren and university students, so it is expected that there will also be a significant number of return movements to the large urban centres that will be added to those of the working day.

The importance of respecting the rules

The greater the number of trips, the greater the exposure and therefore the greater the risk. With this premise, the DGT puts all the human and material resources at its disposal so that the established speeds are respected, there are no distractions, nor driving if alcohol or other drugs have been ingested and to avoid being ejected from the vehicle if the seat belt is incorrectly fastened, or you are simply not wearing it.

In addition, the DGT recalls that on March 21 new traffic regulations came into force regarding speed, distraction, seat belt and alcohol, all of which are concurrent factors in road traffic incidents.