Spain’s Traffic Fatalities At Record Low Due To Pandemic
Spain News
Published: 25 August 2021 14:25 CET
Despite the negative impact brought about by the pandemic, there was an upside in that there were far fewer traffic accidents and fatalities recorded.
In their latest annual review, Spain’s DGT traffic authorities revealed that the country saw 22 per cent fewer deaths in 2020 compared to 2019 due to the restrictive measures put in place to prevent the spread of Covid.
Figures reveal that there were a total of 1,370 traffic-related deaths on Spanish roads in 2020, a fall of 385 on the previous year’s figure of 1,755, with 6,681 people also having to be hospitalised as a result of a traffic accident.
According to the DGT, the reduction is primarily due to the lockdown and travel restrictions imposed by the national and regional governments with around 25% fewer long trips being taken during this time.
The stats mean that Spain can now be considered one of the safest countries within the European Union in which to drive with just 29 deaths per one million citizens compared to 37 in 2019.
This is in stark contrast to the 1993 figures where there were an incredible 162 deaths per one million citizens.
Between 2011 and 2020, Spain set a target to have a maximum mortality rate of 37 per million citizens, a figure that was already met in 2019.
It means that Spain trails behind just three other European nations that saw lower figures - these were Sweden with 18 deaths per million citizens, Malta with 21 and Denmark with 27.
At the other end of the spectrum, it is Romania which has the highest death rate within the EU for 2020, with 85 deaths per one million.
The overall number of deaths within the European Union fell by 17 per cent, from 51 to 42 deaths per one million inhabitants.
According to the DGT, driver distractions were one of the most frequent causes of traffic incidents, up three points on 2019. Around 31 per cent of accidents were due to distractions. Other major factors were alcohol consumption (27%) and speeding (25%).
The report showed that 50 per cent of those killed were pedestrians, cyclists and users of personal mobility vehicles. One in four fatalities were motorists.
Around eight out of 10 fatalities occurred on convention roads due to vehicles leaving the road and frontal collisions.
In the city, 80% of the people who were killed were vulnerable users including pedestrians (153), cyclists (21), users of personal mobility vehicles (7) and motorists (134). Around 65% of pedestrians killed were 65 or older.
July, August, September and October were the months that saw the majority of fatalities, accounting for 54% of all traffic-related deaths.
Regionally, it was Andalusia that recorded the largest number of deaths with 254. Catalunya was next with 204, followed by the Valencian Community with 129 and Castilla y León with 126.
Catalunya saw the biggest fall in fatalities with 33 per cent fewer (100) than in 2019.
Source
https://www.dgt.es/Galerias/prensa/2021/08/ANEXO_ESTADISTICO_2020_vf.pdf
https://www.dgt.es/es/prensa/notas-de-prensa/2021/en-2020-fallecieron-1370-personas-en-accidentes-de-trafico.shtml
Image Credit: Base de datos CARE de la Comisión Europea, EUROSTAT. Datos provisionales.
