The summer holidays arrive and hundreds of thousands of families hit the road. The DGT forecasts 95 million long-distance journeys on Spanish roads in the coming months, 1.75% more than last year.
These motorists have to know, in order to face these escapades with the utmost prudence, that this is the summer season with the most tragedies on the road. An average of 5 deaths per day, with a mortality rate that skyrockets by 20%, compared to the figures for fatal accidents recorded for the rest of the year.
The alarm bell to end so many lives taken on the asphalt was given this morning by the Línea Directa Foundation. A study has been presented that has sought to analyze the summer departure and return operations, comparing them with normal working periods and with the rest of the holiday periods common to all of Spain (Easter Week, December long weekend and Christmas).
The result? “Summer is the most difficult time of the year to drive due to the density of traffic, the recklessness of drivers and fatigue due to the duration of the journeys,” says that study.
The figures say it all: In the last 10 years -the period analysed- more than 165,000 accidents were recorded in Spain during the summer holidays, in which more than 3,300 people died and another 234,000 were injured.
And another fact to take into account to take all precautions when you are on vacation. The type accident in summer trips usually occurs on conventional roads, by way of exit and very close to the destination.
Línea Directa attributes this circumstance to overconfidence (the driver is already close to the destination) or to lowering his guard on short trips, once he is already installed. The profile of the deceased in these accidents is that of a young man, between 18 and 29 years of age.
In this study -carried out from 1,700 surveys- it is verified that “there is still a lot to improve in terms of responsibility” of those drivers who are on vacation in the summer season.
61% confess that they do not follow the rest recommendations; 54% admit that they exceed the speed limits on these trips during the holidays and 23% admit to drinking alcohol during the outbound and return trips.
The Línea Directa Foundation has also wanted to determine which are, in terms of road mortality, the sections of road with the most deaths in Spain during the holiday periods common to the entire country.
It has analyzed the Spanish road network in modular sections of 20 kilometers in which at least 3 fatal accidents have occurred during the holiday season of the last decade.
The conclusion? The communities with the greatest number of critical sections are Catalonia, Andalusia, the Valencian Community and Castilla y León, while on the opposite side are Extremadura, Navarra and Murcia.
On the other hand, the 10 road sections with the most deaths in the last decade in this type of displacement are located in Tarragona, on the AP-7, (Km 320-334); in Burgos, on the old N-I (km 254-278), and in Girona, on the C-33 (km 6-9).
All this information is reflected in the study “Ir y volver. X-ray of traffic accidents in summer trips in Spain (2012-2021)”, prepared in collaboration with FESVIAL (Spanish Foundation for Road Safety).
The most frequent accident in summer is leaving the road, which increases 1.6 points compared to non-holiday periods. In addition, there is also a notable increase in frontal collisions, rollovers and collisions with obstacles, types of accidents closely related to fatigue and distracted driving.
With the first “summer departure operations” just around the corner, the Línea Directa Foundation also wanted to find out what the driving habits of Spanish drivers are on long-distance journeys. And, in this aspect, “there is also a lot to improve”, it has been insisted in this press conference.
One of the most worrying conclusions refers to the fact that alcohol is more present in these journeys than in the journeys made in the rest of the year.
23% of the motorists consulted admit to drinking beers and even mixed drinks during the outbound and return trips in the summer. In addition, 25% of those surveyed admit to eating copiously during these journeys, a circumstance that can favor drowsiness and heaviness.
