Seven out of 10 deaths in traffic accidents outside cities occur on roads with only one lane in each direction of traffic. The high road accident rate on this type of roads confirms the urgent need to invest more in improving the level of safety of these infrastructures, as reflected in the study 'How to save 300 lives a year in Spain' prepared by Mapfre Foundation and the Spanish Road Association (AEC).
In rural areas, driving requires special attention: the presence of animals on the road, the lack of signage or the lesser presence of emergency services are some of the main risk factors. Consequently, in Spain, the majority of deaths from traffic accidents occur on rural roads.
The report shows that road departures on the right and left, as well as frontal and frontal-lateral collisions and pedestrian collisions are the most frequent accidents on this type of road and represent 69% of incidents with victims, 89% of accidents with someone dead and 81% in which there are injured people hospitalized.
To prevent road exits on the right, for example, the study proposes low-cost measures, such as the installation of safety barriers, especially to reinforce the safety of the most vulnerable users, such as motorcyclists, a measure that would contribute to reducing up to 47% of injuries occur on these roads.
Longitudinal sound guides also stand out, which would contribute to reducing up to 21% of injuries on this type of road, as well as reflective reflectors, also called “cat's eyes”, key elements in road signaling because they contribute decisively. to improve drivers' visibility and reduce accidents, specifically by 37%.
Other notable features include the use of non-slip pavement on curves or at intersections (-35% accident rate), more audible edge lines (-21%) and more beacons or areas with zebra crossings on the shoulders (-13%). ).
Accidents and pedestrians
Pedestrian accidents could also be reduced, specifically up to 60%, if low-cost measures were implemented, such as reinforcing lighting along the sections close to urban roads, as well as incorporating pedestrian paths (-75% ) and shoulders or shared spaces for pedestrians (-70%), according to the study.
It also suggests other initiatives aimed at reducing accidents that occur on roads with cyclists, such as continuing to reinforce the signage that warns of their presence, both fixed and dynamic, and the network of safe cycling routes on sections with high circulation of cyclists. , as well as using anti-slip paints.
Complying with traffic regulations is key to reducing accidents, according to the authors of the report, who show that, for example, respecting speed limits would reduce mortality by approximately 20%, and that wearing a seat belt would avoided at least 10% of the total number of fatalities during last Holy Week.
“The debate on speed limits on narrower conventional roads is permanently open and the German Road Safety Council (DVR), for example, has just proposed a new limit of 80 km/h on these narrow roads,” he noted. Jesús Monclús, director of Prevention and Road Safety of the Mapfre Foundation, insisting on the importance of revising the speed limits on the narrowest conventional roads downwards and improving compliance with the existing limits.
Other measures that Fundación Mapfre considers can be effective in certain situations are the splitting of roads (moving from conventional roads or highways) in cases of road sections with a high volume of traffic. In this sense, they remember that the mortality rate on doubled roads is 4.6 lower than on conventional roads.
Another suggestion is the selective restriction of heavy vehicle traffic on specific sections of conventional roads with a lot of traffic and for which there are alternative high-capacity roads (a measure, by the way, also proposed by the Spanish Road Safety Alliance). This measure should be accompanied by the corresponding reinforcement of the maintenance of the latter, since they will suffer wear and tear due to the increase in the circulation of heavy vehicles.
The great potential of improving modern vehicles stands out, since according to studies carried out by the DGT, mortality in a vehicle more than 15 years old is twice that of vehicles less than five years old.
The authors of the study indicate that “the question we initially asked ourselves, based on the latest information available and, very specifically, a brilliant document prepared by the General Directorate of Traffic itself in 2019, is what should be done to save 500 lives on Spanish conventional roads by acting on the road. And the answer is given by the same report, which estimates that if 1.8 billion euros were invested in improving the condition of conventional roads, the most common in Spain's road network, up to 300 lives a year and more than 800 deaths could be avoided. seriously injured in traffic accidents.
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