The day after the new road safety act comes into force, the abertis foundation brings together those responsible for the reform of the law to outline the main changes in it and assess the implications of the rules for drivers, associations of accident victims and the General Traffic Directorate.

The Casa América in Madrid (Simón Bolívar room, 5.45pm) will this afternoon be hosting the spokespeople of the main political groups on the parliamentary committee on road safety and preventing traffic accidents, who will be offering their respective views on the new law. Juan Carlos Corcuera will be speaking for the Socialist group, while Federico Souvirón will speak for the Popular group. Also present will be Jordi Jané, Spokesman for the Catalan group (CiU) and Emilio Olabarría, chairman of the committee and spokesman of the Basque parliamentary group (EAJ-PNV).

Together with the political representatives, the symposium will also feature Pedro Luís Calvo, head of the Safety and Mobility department at Madrid city council; Ramón Ledesma, deputy director-general of regulations at the Spanish General Traffic Directorate, and Josep Pérez-Moya, director of the Catalan Traffic Service. The symposium will also feature José Antonio López Casas, assistant general manager of abertis autopistas, and Sergi Loughney, director of the abertis foundation.

The symposium in Madrid represents the continuation of the one held a month ago in Barcelona. On that occasion, the participants highlighted the agility and simplification the new law brings to the penalty procedure, as well as its “more educational” nature. They recalled that the funds collected in traffic fines will be earmarked for road safety, accident prevention and associations of victims.

Today’s event, however, comes as public debate has begun now that the new rules are now in force. The participants will be able to give their views on the different issues in the law, such as the new fast-track procedure for collecting fines, the penalty for the use of radar blockers, the increase in the amount of some fines or the longer period for the prescription of penalties, among others.

The Abertis Foundation
 

The symposium on the new road safety law is being held as part of the abertis foundation’s Road Safety Programme, which is structured in four main lines of action: road safety education in schools, awareness-raising and educational activities, research work and specialist symposia.

Alongside its work in the road safety field, the foundation also works to foster research into the impact of major infrastructures on the regions, especially in terms of the population, the economy and the environment. The organisation is part of the commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility by abertis, one of the top international business groups in transport and communications infrastructure management.