The year 2020 has concluded with 870 deaths in traffic accidents, a “historic” figure as it is the lowest figure since 1960, according to the Traffic balance, which represents a decrease of 21% compared to the 1,098 deaths in 2019.
Part of the blame has been the mobility restrictions applied by the Government with the aim of reducing the advance of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, reported this “historic” data today together with the General Director of Traffic, Pere Navarro, at the press conference on the balance of road accidents for the year that has just ended.
This balance counts the victims registered in the 24 hours following the accidents and only on interurban roads.
During 2020, there were 797 fatal accidents in which 870 people died and another 3,463 required hospital admission, which represents a 22% decrease compared to 2019 in the number of accidents (213 fewer).
The minister has valued these figures, which occur in a context of a lower number of long-distance journeys (25% less and 321 million), an increase in the number of vehicles (1% and 34.8 million) and driver census (0.7% and 27.1 million), although it has specified that the institutions cannot be satisfied as long as there is someone deceased.
This decrease has been greater on weekends (-35.5%) than on weekdays (-20.8%) and in light vehicles (-29.4%) than in heavy vehicles (-2.6%) , since the latter have continued to supply the entire population even during the harshest period of confinement.
Since March (included), deaths have decreased every month except September (1% more). The maximum decreases in the numbers of deaths were registered in April (-59%) and May (-50%), equivalent to the greatest decreases in mobility of the year (-75% and -60%, respectively). The smallest decreases in terms of the number of deaths occurred in July (-3%), August (-11%), and October (-8%).
In fact, Grande-Marlaska has assured that “it is not a triumphalist balance, since they continue to be unacceptable figures for any society and for those of us who work in the Ministry of the Interior and in the DGT, since we know that these deaths are preventable in their most”.
It has also highlighted that last year there were 32 days in which there were no fatalities on interurban roads, and that there has been one death by bus throughout the year on all roads, one more than in all of 2019.
By age groups, a smaller decrease in deaths has been observed among young people between 15 and 24 years of age and in the group between 55 and 64 years of age, with -15% in both groups. The greatest decreases have been registered in the age groups of 45 to 54 years (-26%), 25 to 34 years (-23%), over 64 years (-23%), and up to 14 years (of 19 to 7 deaths).
Asked by the , Grande-Marlaska pointed out that “70-year-olds are not vulnerable, so it is not on our agenda. What is always on the agenda is to guarantee security, and within it that psychotechnical conditions and psychophysical characteristics of all of us who use motor vehicles are appropriate and necessary to do so in safe conditions for all”.
The balance, however, reflects that the groups considered vulnerable have accounted for 36.4% of the deaths in 2020. Among these, the deceased motorists, who amounted to 189 fewer, which represents 34% less in the interannual rate. 36 cyclists also died, 10% less than in 2019, and 92 pedestrians, 22% less.
Another relevant piece of information is that 14.3% of those killed in passenger cars and vans (125 people) were not wearing a seat belt. In fact, Grande-Marlaska has emphasized the increase in the non-use of seat belts.
Likewise, in 2002 the use of helmets on motorcycles increased by 2%, although six motorcyclists did not use it, which represents 3.7% of deaths on this means of transport. For their part, 36% of the deceased cyclists did not use the case, a total of 13 people.
type of accident
By type of accident, 44% of the deaths (380 people) were due to going off the road, something that for Grande-Marlaska had to do with “excessive speed, coupled with alcohol, drug use and distractions such as mobile phone use. In the interannual rate, exits from the road have decreased by 11%, although the percentage has increased from one year to the next, going from 39% of the total to 44%.
They were followed by frontal collisions, which accounted for 20% of the deaths (172 deaths), and side and frontal-lateral collisions (13% of the deaths and 111 deaths). If these data are compared with those of 2019, frontal collisions have fallen by 31%, while lateral and frontal-lateral collisions have decreased by 16%.
Evolution of the decade
Between 2010 and 2020, the number of deaths has decreased by 49.7%. In the same period, the number of long-distance movements has decreased by 18.5%, while the number of vehicles and the number of drivers have increased by 11.9% and 5.2%, respectively.
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