In these last few remaining days of 2021, think before you get behind the wheel of your car. Don´t be tempted to drink or take drugs. Also, minimise distractions while driving.
As reported in our previous article, half of the deceased drivers who were autopsied tested positive for alcohol or drugs. Also, alcohol or drug use was a factor in 27% of fatal accidents last year. Let´s not add to these statistics.
DGT
The Directorate-General for Traffic (DGT) published the number of deaths on Spanish roads during 2021 so far. Up until December 19, there were 967 fatalities. Of these, 267 died in motorway/dual carriageway accidents, with 700 dying on other roads. Furthermore, 372 of these people were classed as “vulnerable”; 226 motorists, 103 pedestrians, 13 on mopeds, and 30 cyclists.
In the last weekend alone, between Friday and Sunday (17-19 December) 10 people died in 9 accidents. As the DGT officially Tweeted, “they are not numbers, they are broken lives, shattered families”.
New laws
With the new #LeySeguridadVial endangering or hindering a cyclist or motorcycle in an overtaking will mean the loss of 6 points (instead of the previous 4) and a €200 fine. Also, when overtaking, you must change lanes if there is more than 1 lane in each direction. There is a mandatory minimum of 1.5 metres of space required before overtaking. Stopping or parking on bike lanes or cycle paths is also prohibited.
This and other new laws will come into effect early next year, 3 months after the publication of the official BOE.
Night driving
Although the number of accidents that happen during the day is higher than at night, the mortality percentage rate is higher than that during daylight hours. There are a number of other factors to take into account when driving after dark as written in our previous article.
