35 people died in road accidents on Catalan roads between January and April, 31.5% less than in the same period in 2023, according to data from the Catalan Traffic Service (SCT), which points out that this reduction that has occurred also in the most vulnerable groups: motorcyclists, pedestrians and cyclists.
However, the negative point of this first annual balance is in the accidents involving vans, which have increased compared to previous records.
According to the SCT, between January 1 and April 30 there were 33 fatal accidents with 35 victims, better figures than last year, when in the same period there were 42 fatal accidents with 51 deaths. The latest data is also better than that of 2019, before the pandemic, when 54 people died in 52 fatal accidents.
The decrease in fatalities since the beginning of the year affects the most vulnerable groups. A 38% decrease in deaths has been recorded: 11 of the 35 victims were motorcyclists (2 less than in 2023); 2 were pedestrians (five less); and no deaths of cyclists have been recorded.
On the contrary, an increase in fatal accidents with vans involved has been observed: six people traveling in this type of vehicle have died this first four months, a figure that contrasts with that of the first four months of 2023, when no accidents were recorded. no fatal accident.
The reduction in accident figures has occurred in all provinces except Girona, where the same fatalities have been recorded as last year. Specifically, 15 people have died on Barcelona’s interurban roads (6 less than in 2023); in Tarragona 11 (4 less); in Lleida 5 (2 less) and in Girona 4.
By sex, 31 of the deceased were men and 4 were women, and the majority of them were driving the accident vehicle: 27 of the men were the drivers; 2 passengers and 2 pedestrians, and in the case of the women, 3 were driving and one was a passenger.
Regarding the ages of the victims, 52% were over 55 years old and, compared to the same period last year, the number of deaths in the age group between 65 and 74 years has increased from one in 2023 to 6 in the last four months.
By type of accident, 12 were road departures in which only the accident vehicle was involved, 8 were head-on collisions and the rest were side collisions. Another point to highlight was the dispersion of accidents, since 33 fatal accidents have been on different roads with the exception of C-25 and C-31.
On the AP-7, one of the roads with the most traffic, accidents have been reduced since the release of tolls: in the first four months of 2019 (before the free tolls) there were 3 deaths; in 2022 there were 10; In 2023, 3 people died and in the last four months there has been one fatality.
The afternoon is the time of day that has concentrated the greatest number of traffic victims: 19 of the 35 died in accidents in the afternoon and 14 of them in accidents that took place on Friday afternoons or on holiday eves, on weekends or holidays.
