Lorraine Williamson
Spain road deaths in 2025 ended lower than the year before, even as long-distance traffic hit a record. But the national road-safety picture remains stubbornly uneven: two-lane roads continue to account for most fatalities, motorcyclists are still overrepresented, and preventable deaths linked to non-use of safety restraints persist.
The provisional 2025 balance from Spain’s traffic authority (DGT), presented by Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska, counts 1,119 deaths in 1,028 fatal crashes on interurban roads, alongside 4,936 people hospitalised with serious injuries.
A better year on paper — in a record year for travel
Compared with 2024, the DGT says deaths fell by 35 (down 3%). It calls 2025 the second-lowest figure since 1960 (excluding the pandemic-distorted years).
The context matters. DGT reports long-distance journeys rose 3.39% to 478.56 million movements, the highest on record. Even so, the fatal-crash rate per million movements dropped to 2.1, the lowest in the series.
The secondary-road problem hasn’t shifted
The sharpest improvement came on motorways and dual carriageways, where deaths fell by 30 to 298. On the rest of the interurban network, deaths slipped by just 1% to 821.
DGT’s conclusion is blunt: three out of every four deaths
Motorcyclists remain the most exposed
“Vulnerable road users” accounted for 40% of those killed (451 deaths). Within that group, motorcyclists are the largest single cohort, with 304 deaths — five more than in 2024.
The split by road type is telling. On high-capacity roads, motorcyclist deaths fell, but on conventional roads they rose, with 232 riders killed on those routes.
Run-off-road crashes: still the dominant killer
By crash type, run-off-road incidents remain the single biggest contributor: 481 deaths, representing 43% of the total.
Frontal collisions accounted for 237 deaths (about 21%), down year-on-year, but still a striking figure on roads where one mistake can become unrecoverable.
Safety devices: the preventable deaths DGT keeps highlighting
DGT says 165 people who died were not using a safety device at the time of the crash. It adds that one in four people killed in a car or van were not wearing a seatbelt.
It is one of those grim constants in road safety: engineering improves, enforcement intensifies, but basic protection is still too often skipped.
Who is dying on Spain’s interurban roads?
Drivers continue to make up the majority of fatalities: 818 deaths (73%). Passengers accounted for 198 (18%), and pedestrians for 103 (9%).
By age, the 65+ group recorded the highest number of deaths: 239, up from the previous year.
Andalucia and Catalonia: the biggest shares
By region, DGT says Andalucia and Catalonia recorded the highest shares of interurban road deaths, with around 20% and 13% of the total, respectively.
The political pressure point: drink-driving limits
Alongside the statistics, the Interior Minister renewed his call for parliament to approve a proposal to lower the maximum permitted alcohol limit for driving, arguing that road safety should be treated as a “project of the country”.
Whether lawmakers move quickly is another matter. But the direction of travel is clear: Spain’s road-safety authorities want alcohol to play a smaller role in the crash narrative, full stop.
What these numbers do — and don’t — include
This is a provisional count focused on interurban roads. It includes people who died in the crash or within 24 hours. DGT notes that the consolidated final statistics will include urban and interurban roads and deaths counted at 30 days, offering a fuller picture of 2025.
Quick answers readers tend to search for
Does this include city crashes?
Are the figures final?
What’s the biggest single crash type?
When the final 30-day figures land, the focus should sharpen
If 2025 proves anything, it is that progress is possible even with record mobility. But the stubborn patterns are no longer subtle: conventional roads are still where deaths concentrate, and motorcyclists remain disproportionately at risk. The next test is whether Spain can turn a “second-best since 1960” headline into targeted action that cuts the toll where it is most entrenched.