Dangerous drivers

During the recent week-long campaign on conventional roads a total of 20,612 drivers were reported for being over the speed-limit and 2,227 people for not wearing a seatbelt, 114 of which were under 18 years of age.

National traffic authorities Direccion General de Trafico (DGT) reported that these were among the most common offenses detected by Guardia Civil traffic officers among the 600,000 vehicles studied over the week.

The DGT report stated that speed-limits are a problematic area of road safety in Spain – especially on conventional roads – where studies show that 39 per cent of drivers don’t respect them.

Mobile phone use at the wheel is another common offense, with 1,230 drivers reported for this during the week.

Alcohol and drug controls were also carried out during the campaign with a total of 1,193 positive results.

471 drivers were caught over-taking illegally and 440 jumping stop signs.

The DGT also expressed worry over the aging and lack of maintenance of vehicles on the roads, with 1,607 reports of vehicles in a bad state and 38 immobilised as they were not considered safe to drive. 

The final figures were for documents, with 1,824 reports for lack of vehicle documents carried and 1,075 for lack of driver documents.

Regarding seat-belt use, the DGT reminds citizens that their use halves the chances of dying during an accident.