Monday sees the start of the latest week-long campaign to try to make the roads of Spain a little safer, with the DGT turning the attention to traffic police to one of the most dangerous elements of road safety, excessive speed.
The campaign will run from Monday 13th, through to Sunday 19th of March with Guardia Civil traffic patrols focusing their attention to those who break the law on conventional main roads, the location of the majority of fatal crashes where speed is a contributing factor.
Recent data reveals that inappropriate speed was present in 22% of fatal accidents and that speed is one of the main factors that results in accidents with the worst consequences.
One in four deaths in road based incidents can be attributed to being speed related with speeding causing nearly 500 deaths a year, and 70% of all injuries occurring on conventional roads.
All Pegasus equipped helicopters are likely to be taking to the air, and mobile radar traps will be located in strategic locations around the country.
During the week-long clamp that ran at around the same time last year, the traffic police checked nearly a million vehicles, half of which were on conventional roads, and reported a staggering 30,000 drivers for breaking the speed limit.
In total, the Guardia Civil checked the speed of a total of 921,375 vehicles, of which 30,486, or 3.4%, were reported for not complying with speed limits.
During the campaign, five drivers were reported for committing a crime against road safety when driving at a higher speed of eighty kilometres per hour above the permitted limit on this road.
One driver was clocked at 237 kilometres per hour and under the influence of alcohol. These drivers could face prison for up to 6 months, or community service, as well as a hefty fine and a ban.
Meanwhile, during the month of March of this year, there was at least a reduction in the number of serious offences recorded, with a total of 268 drivers across the Valencia region arrested and brought before the courts, representing a decrease of 18.4% compared to the same time last year.
In the Alicante province, there were 55 charges for drunk driving and 41 for not having a license, as well as 2 for driving at excessive speed, one for driving at 223 kilometres per hour in a 100 limited zone, the other for driving at 216 kilometres per hour in a 120 kilometre per hour limited section.
In the province of Valencia, 113 drivers were charged for driving under the influence of alcohol and 30 drivers did not have a valid license and in Castellón there were 18 drivers caught driving under the influence of alcohol and 9 without a valid license.
February saw 281 cases brought before the courts across the region, 189 for driving under the influence of alcohol, 92 for driving without a license.
Filed under: http://www.theleader.info/article/46947/
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