Skip to main content

Spanish road safety hits plateau

Strong measures in Spain have helped reduce the country’s road fatality rate enormously in recent years. Tougher enforcement of road rules commenced in 2004, with a notable drop in speeding and drink driving, resulting in a reduce rate of crashes. However a recent report from the Spanish motoring body RACC reveals that the figures have hit a plateau, with road fatalities for 2015 similar to those in 2014. This is the third consecutive year that Spain’s road fatality rates have remained broadly unchanged. Th
January 7, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
Strong measures in Spain have helped reduce the country’s road fatality rate enormously in recent years. Tougher enforcement of road rules commenced in 2004, with a notable drop in speeding and drink driving, resulting in a reduce rate of crashes. However a recent report from the Spanish motoring body RACC reveals that the figures have hit a plateau, with road fatalities for 2015 similar to those in 2014. This is the third consecutive year that Spain’s road fatality rates have remained broadly unchanged. There were 1,130 road fatalities in Spain during 2015. However RACC did also comment that given the upswing in the Spanish economy following the downturn of 2008, transport and mobility levels have increased in the last three years. In this respect, that crash levels have remained static despite increasing traffic volumes shows that there has been a gradual gain in overall road safety. But the data also shows that there is a need for a new focus and new strategies to further lower the country’s rate of vehicle crashes, moving beyond addressing speeding and drink driving.

Related Content

  • Brazil’s high road death rate
    June 7, 2021
    Brazil’s road death rate remains worryingly high.
  • Concern at high number of motorcycle deaths in US
    May 20, 2016
    Concern has been expressed at the high number of fatalities involving motorcycle users in the US during 2015. Preliminary figures from state authorities show that over 5,000 people were killed in motorcycle crashes in the US over the course of 2015. The full data has yet to be compiled and analysed but these early figures suggest an increase in motorcyclist deaths of 10% for 2014 compared with 2015, or around 450 more people killed than in the year previously. The report was released as part of the Gove
  • Vietnam’s steady improvements in road safety
    December 22, 2023
    Vietnam stands out for its steady improvements in road safety.
  • UK road safety remains at a level
    October 5, 2018
    There has been little change in road safety in the UK since 2012, according to the latest data. In 2017 there were 1,793 road deaths on the UK road network, compared with 1,792 in 2016. There were 24,831 serious injuries resulting from road crashes in 2017 as well as 170,993 casualties of all types. This last represents a 6% drop from the previous year, despite a 1.1% increase in motor traffic volumes for 2017 compared with 2016. The figure for casualties of all types, 170,993, is in fact the lowest on