Among its other objectives, the reform of the Road Safety Act, which comes into force in full on 24 May, will speed up and simplify the penalty procedure and is "more educational" in nature. This is one of the main conclusions reached by the conference organised today by the abertis foundation at the Palau Robert centre in Barcelona. Under the title "The New Road Safety Act", the event brought together the spokespeople for the main groups of the Congress of Deputies’ Temporary Committee on Road Safety and Accident Prevention, who have undertaken the reform of the Road Safety Act.

The round table was attended by the spokesman for the Catalan party (CiU) and Fourth Vice President of the Congress of Deputies, Jordi Jané; Eloísa Álvarez, assistant spokesperson for the Socialist party; and Federico Souvirón, spokesman for the Popular party. The conference was also attended by Josep Pérez-Moya, Director of the Servei Català de Trànsit; Francesc Narváez, Mobility Councillor of Barcelona City Council; Miquel Roca, Chairman of the abertis foundation and Jose Maria Morera, General Manager of abertis autopistas.

Speakers’ reflections

In his speech, Jordi Jané maintained that the reform of the Act is based on "reasonable consensus and acceptable differences" between the various parties which form the Committee. The most important modifications include the fact that the funds raised from traffic fines will be allocated to road safety, accident prevention and victims’ associations. Another new characteristic is that, without valid insurance, it will not be possible to pass the ITV vehicle inspection test.

Jordi Jané placed particular emphasis on the regulation of radar detection systems: "radar detectors are permitted, but inhibitors will be banned, with fines of up to €6,000". In his opinion, the aim of the radars "is not to raise funds, but to prevent accidents: that is why we are not against radar detectors".

For her part, Eloísa Álvarez stressed that "the transparency and simplicity of the new penalty procedure offers legal certainty and reduces the feeling of impunity". According to the Socialist spokesperson, it also helps to "put offenders’ minds at rest" by simplifying the process. On the incorporation of new technologies, she added that the new Act will mean that when registering a vehicle, owners will have to provide an email address to which traffic notifications will be sent. "The address will now be a virtual one", she said.

Federico Souvirón believes that the argument suggesting that "with more fines there are fewer traffic accidents" is "false". According to the Popular party spokesman, one of the main reasons for the decrease in the number of victims is the replacement of cars in the country with newer models (60% since 1998), the construction of high-capacity roads and a reduction in the number of journeys made.

As far as Josep Pérez-Moya is concerned, the new Act is "modern, flexible, meets the needs of society" and "means that people do not feel defenceless against the Administration, thereby reinforcing road safety policies".  

 
For his part, Francesc Narváez  stated that "the modification of the Act has provided the solutions demanded by cities", in reference to the improvement of the notification process, which he had called "cumbersome" thanks in part to the incorporation of new technologies.

In his speech, the Chairman of the abertis foundation, Miquel Roca, highlighted the Foundation’s work in the road safety field, the main objective of which is to "increase awareness of the population with regard to the need for responsible mobility in order to bring down accident rates". Miquel Roca also offered a reminder that "road safety is just one part of a broader objective, which is the value of a sense of civic responsibility".

For his part, the Director of the abertis foundation, Sergi Loughney, who was the chair of the round table, announced that the conference will be held on 26 May in Madrid.

The abertis foundation

The holding of the "New Road Safety Act" conference forms part of the Road Safety Programme of the abertis foundation, which is divided into four main areas of activity: road education in schools, awareness-raising and dissemination activities, research work and technical conferences.

Aside from its work in the road safety field, the Foundation is also devoted to promoting research into the impact of large infrastructures in the area, particularly on demography, the economy and the environment. The organisation is one of the responses to the Corporate Social Responsibility commitment made by abertis, one of the leading international transport and communications infrastructure management groups.