The l’Arrabassada road, which links the municipalities of Barcelona and Sant Cugat del Vallès through the Collserola mountain range, is considered the most dangerous road in Catalonia. Historically, it has been the scene of races and challenges between drivers until the police officers took action on the matter and increased surveillance measures to end these illegal practices.
Despite the efforts of the traffic authorities to eradicate the negligent behavior of the most reckless drivers, the l’Arrabassada road has once again been the scene of a new act of these characteristics. On this occasion, the protagonists have not been drivers of cars or large displacement motorcycles, as is usual, but a group of young people who were riding a bicycle while performing dangerous stunts, endangering their lives and that of other users.
In a video published on social networks by Social Drive, a group of young people can be seen descending their bicycles at high speed along the l’Arrabassada road while performing all kinds of stunts.
The images, which appear to be recorded by the protagonists themselves, show at least five young people recklessly circulating on the aforementioned road. They are seen with both feet on the saddle, without holding the handlebars, lifting the front wheel or skidding while riding at considerable speed.
In some fragments of the video, one of the young people can even be seen invading the opposite lane with the bicycle, with the danger of collision that this maneuver entails. It is also seen how the cars that circulate behind the group have to slow down to maintain a safe distance from the cyclists.
If these reckless maneuvers are already very dangerous, the consequences of suffering an accident due to not protecting the head -the most vulnerable part of our body- with the appropriate helmet can be even more so. The regulations establish that minors under 16 years of age must wear a helmet, regardless of the road they are traveling on, and that it is mandatory for those over that age on interurban roads.
The only exceptions for which it is allowed to dispense with this passive safety element are prolonged climbs, for medical reasons or in extreme heat. The fines for violation of this rule are 200 euros, although as in many other sanctions, the prompt payment of the sanction supposes a reduction of 50 percent.
In the event that the cyclists who star in the video on the l’Arrabassada road are identified, each of them may be fined 500 euros for reckless driving. This is an administrative complaint, which only entails a financial penalty, because the offenders were driving a bicycle. This is the same thing that happened to a cyclist who caused an accident on a road in the municipality of Campins (Barcelona) in September 2022 and who received a fine for that amount.
On the other hand, if the reckless driving occurs when the offender drives a motor vehicle, the penalty entails the withdrawal of 6 points from the driver’s license. In the most extreme cases, reckless driving can also be considered a crime and can carry jail time.
