Date Published: 23/06/2022

ARCHIVED - Spanish road deaths close to tripling 2019 fatalities

ARCHIVED ARTICLE

Experts believe the maintenance of roads in Spain is key to reducing this figure

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Spanish road deaths close to tripling 2019 fatalities

Now that most anti-Covid restrictions have been lifted, travel throughout Spain has pretty much returned to business as usual – with the exception of the recent flight disruptions of course. What this means is that there are more vehicles circulating on Spanish roads than at the height of the pandemic, and this has lead to an unprecedented number of road traffic fatalities.

Speaking on Wednesday June 22, the Director General of Traffic, Pere Navarro, revealed that traffic fatalities have increased by a tragic 30% this year compared to 2019, a “puzzling” development to put it mildly.

Over the last couple of decades, Spain has allocated a huge amount of funding towards the maintenance of the country’s motorways and dual carriageways, which has resulted in road fatalities dropping by a third over the last 18 years. This makes 2022’s figures all the more shocking.

"The only thing you can do is roll up your sleeves, put the problem on the table and work on it," Mr Navarro resolved.

He added that the DGT is currently working on a series of new road signs to enhance safety, as well as planning a re-launch of the ‘You are not alone on the road’ awareness campaign, aimed at the workers responsible for maintaining the roads.

“Conservation is what demonstrates the civic level of a society and in Spain we can be proud", since, he concluded, "we have a very good road network in the country".

Pere Navarro, DG #DGT, en la entrega del XVIII Premio Nacional ACEX a la Seguridad en Conservación 🏆: "Asuntos para tener en cuenta: aumento de los #atropellos en autovías y autopistas e incremento de los #accidentes con animales'.#carreteras #mantenimiento #SeguridadVial pic.twitter.com/hlC85okkpt
— Dir. Gral. Tráfico (@DGTes) June 22, 2022

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Image: Pixaby

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