Tragedy in Mijas: What are your thoughts?

I can’t seem to get the horror of that young girl losing her life while trying to cross the A-7 out of my mind; it’s haunting me and something must be done.

I’ve lived in Marbella since 1980 and sadly, this isn’t the first tragedy along this road. Years ago, before junctions were redesigned, fatal accidents were all too common as drivers turned on and off the main carriageway causing serious accidents, not to mention the pedestrians trying to cross. Nowadays, despite so many improvements, the danger hasn’t disappeared, particularly for tourists who are unaware of the history.

The recent accident near Mijas has once again highlighted that there are several stretches of motorway where there is no nearby footbridge for people to cross.   Holidaymakers staying in the area, with the beach on one side and shops, restaurants, bars or their urbanisation on the other,  may think of crossing as the obvious option, particularly late at night when the road seems quiet.

Our brains are poor at judging speed and distance. At 120 km/h, a vehicle travels over 33 metres every second. Crossing six lanes and a hard shoulder takes around 20 seconds. In that time, a car covers almost 700 metres, roughly the length of seven football pitches. By the time you notice it in the distance, it’s already far closer than you realise. Equally, drivers don’t expect pedestrians on a motorway and may have only a couple of seconds to react.

Those of us who live here know the risks because we’ve heard the heartbreaking stories over the years. Visitors haven’t.

What as a community can we do to help prevent this for the future?  What are your thoughts?