The director general of traffic, Pere Navarro, stated that Spain’s objective is to cut the number of deaths in traffic accidents to 50% of the 2001 level by the year 2010. These statements were part of his speech on the first symposium in the series of road safety events organised by the abertis foundation. The second is to be held on 30th September in Madrid.

“Sometimes we do not realise what we have achieved. Spain has first-class companies on the infrastructure concession and engineering market, and in the area of road safety we have managed to do a good job and make huge progress.” Thus, while in 2004 deaths in Spain from traffic accidents came to 128 people per million inhabitants, the figure in 2008 was down to 68 people, less than countries like Austria (81) or Denmark (72).

Navarro stressed that with this progress, the result of the efforts of all those involved in this field, “We have moved on from talking about traffic to talking about mobility in the understanding that for road safety to work, in addition to education and public awareness a good mobility policy is important, together with a good town and country planning policy. In Europe the major infrastructures are already in place. It is time to embark on a new phase, that of managing them.”

Accident rates, an indicator reflecting the level of public spirit

In this respect he also mentioned the enormous change in society in the area of road safety. “We have proved that we are a mature society, because it has been the public who have demanded that we do so. In the final analysis, the accident rate in a country is a clear indicator of the public-spritedness and values of its society.”

The director general of traffic emphasised the three key factors which need to be worked on in the area of road safety: alcohol, safety belts and speed, and explained the considerable reduction in the number of deaths in traffic accidents since the implementation of the driving licence by points. In this respect he stated that some 2,000 drivers who did not previously wear seatbelts started to do so when this measure came into force.

However, he added that one in every four drivers or passengers who died on the roads were still not wearing their seatbelt at the time of the accident.

Forthermore, he pointed out that 31% of the drivers who died last year had more than 0.5 grams of alcohol per litre of blood. 95,000 people showed up positive in alcohol tests and 17,000 were arrested for having high alcohol rates.

Navaro also recognised that distractions at the wheel, such as talking on a mobile phone, continue to be a problem, and 40% of fatal accidents are the result of leaving the road. “If we talk on the mobile we multiply the risk of accident by five, and if we use a hands-free system we multiply it by three.”

During his talk, Navarro also recalled the work done by and “the space” given to accident victims and their families who recognise that “after the accident nothing is the same and therefore every possible effort is worthwhile.”

Study and research, key factors

During the symposium on “Different perspectives for an integrated road safety policy” (Distintas perspectivas para una actuación integral en seguridad vial) organised by the abertis foundation, another of the speakers, former director of the Catalan traffic service Rafael Olmos, discussed the mechanisms and strategies pursued in Catalonia to reduce the accident rate on the roads.

Olmos recalled that “study and research are key factors, along with the involvement of all the traffic departments, in reducing deaths on the road. To be successful, road safety strategies must involve analysing and putting a stop to all the factors which reduce safety on the road.”

In this respect, he stressed the importance of road risk prevention measures, mobility analysis (congestion studies, etc.) and dissuasive or corrective measures implemented on the road itself. “It has been proven that installing speed control radars and preventive or informative systems at black spots in the country do not only reduce accident rates at that particular spot but also in a much larger area of influence.” Even so, Olmo regretted that society still fails to realise how pernicious alchohol can be.

The event, opened by the director of the abertis foundation, Sergi Loughney, and the general manager of abertis autopistas Spain, José María Morera, had Luis Montoro, president of the Spanish road safety foundation and scientific patron of the abertis foundation, as its coordinator and scientific patron.

Montoro stated that since cars were invented 120 years ago 50 million people have died as a result of traffic accidents and 1,200 million more have been seriously injured. However, he stressed that Spain is now the country with the second or third largest fall in the number of deaths from traffic accidents in the European Union, with a reduction in recent years of 45%.