Drivers behind bars

MORE than 4.5 million motorists have admitted to driving in a way that would have constituted a criminal offence.

That’s the conclusion of a report by the Fundacion Linea Directa on crimes against road safety between 2012 and 2015.

Such criminal acts included driving whilst under the influence of drugs or alcohol, excessive speeding and driving without a licence.

The survey also revealed there is a serious lack of knowledge regarding criminal acts whilst driving, with some 11 million unaware that driving whilst under the influence of drugs can lead to a prison sentence.

But beyond this ignorance, such behaviours carry a much more serious problem within society as they have a direct influence on mortality and injury figures across Spain’s road network.

It can be estimated that around 14 per cent of the total deaths in traffic accidents are due to the criminal conduct of another driver.

 Crimes against road safety have become the most common in Spanish courts, accounting for 35 per cent of all crimes committed in Spain.

Since 2008, almost 900,000 trials have been held for crimes against road safety with the number of convictions rising from 66 per cent in 2008 to 85 per cent in 2015.

Between the years 2012-2015, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs accounted for more than 60 per cent of all driving related court cases.

 This was followed by driving without a licence (27 per cent). There are currently around 1,200 people detained in prison for driving without a licence and reckless homicide.

 Men aged between 41 and 50 were the ones who received the most convictions.

The Spanish regions of Baleares, Murcia and Galicia had the highest percentage of convictions for crimes against road safety in the last four years, with Cantabria, Extremadura and Aragon having the lowest conviction rates.