During the month of January, 87 fatal accidents have been recorded on the roads of Spain, in which 100 people have died, 27 more than in the same month of 2019. To find a similar figure, you have to go back to January 2012, when 102 people died.
This increase in the accident rate has occurred in a context of fewer trips, specifically 1% less long-haul movements than in January 2019.
According to the director of the Road Safety Observatory of the General Directorate of Traffic, Álvaro Gómez, “the increase in accidents has been concentrated on high-capacity roads and on weekends, with road exits as the most frequent scenario; We must remember the concurrent factors most associated with this type of accident: speed, distractions and alcohol consumption.”
It is worth highlighting an increase of more than half of the victims on high-capacity roads (such as motorways) compared to January 2019, a figure that has increased from 15 people who died in January 2019 to 39 in this first month of 2022.
Depending on the type of accident, the increase in road exits with 36 deaths stands out, compared to the 24 fatalities in January 2019. This increase has occurred especially on motorways and dual carriageways.
According to the means of displacement, passenger cars are the ones that have seen their accident rate increase the most, going from 35 deaths in January 2019 to 49 this year. In the case of vulnerable users, the figures remain stable with 28 people deceased.
Regarding the use of safety systems, there are 11 deceased who were not wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident. Also a deceased on a cyclist was riding without the corresponding helmet.
By autonomous communities, the behaviour of this first month of the year has been uneven. Andalusia, the Valencian Community and Castilla-La Mancha show a significant increase, compared to the figures for January 2019.
The day with the most deaths was Sunday 30 January, with 12 fatalities. There were 3 days in January when 0 deaths were recorded.
All data is compared to 2019, the reference year.
