Road deaths rise in Spain

ROAD deaths in January almost doubled compared with the same month last year, reaching a three-year high with 88 deaths.

According to experts, the 42 per cent jump can be attributed to the bad weather experienced during the first month of the year and also a relaxation of road vigilance following years of favourable figures.

Data released by Spain’s traffic authority DGT this week show that there were almost on average three deaths per day on Spanish roads in January.

“We had a great decade between 2000 and 2010 where many very important road safety measures were adopted with great results,” Eugenia Domenech, president of the Association of Road Traffic Prevention, told El Pais newspaper.

“But that has been followed by a period of sheer inertia in the last two or three years. The figures show that if we are caught off guard then people relax and accidents happen.”

The Spanish Ministry of Transport said that road use had increased by three per cent in the past year and that a combination of the weather, increased use and a relaxation of attitudes had led to the figures increasing.