The Mossos d'Esquadra regulate traffic on the AP-2 motorway after an accident at the height of the municipality of Castelldans in December 2021.Marion Gascón (EFE)
Last year was the year with the lowest number of deaths from traffic accidents in the historical series, not counting the exceptional 2020, marked by confinement and reduced mobility caused by the pandemic.
1,533 people lost their lives on the roads a year ago, which represents a drop of 13% compared to 2019. Another 7,784 were seriously injured, 10% less than those registered in the year before covid.
The decrease in the number of deaths also derives from a decrease in long-distance journeys, which in 2021 were 8% less than in the previous year.
Fernando Grande-Marlaska, Minister of the Interior, pointed out this Monday in the presentation of the 2021 accident balance that “it is an unaffordable amount”, but 102 fewer deaths than in 2019 “represent a huge amount of saved suffering”.
The number of deaths in traffic accidents in cities also decreased in 2021: 417 people died, a decrease of 20% compared to 2019. Another 4,142 were seriously injured, 4% less than in 2019. Grande-Marlaska added that To explain "this significant reduction" in road mortality in our cities, we must remember that, on May 11, 2021, the speed limit of only 30 kilometers per hour on streets with only one lane in each direction came into effect. , although the measure had already been in force in many large cities for some time.
The 20% decrease in deaths can be seen especially in the statistics of vulnerable users, particularly those over 64 years of age.
It is the age group that registered the greatest decrease during the past year, 155 deaths in 2021 compared to 225 fatalities in 2019, 31% less.
The only mode of travel in which fatalities have increased was in passenger cars, with a rise of six fatalities: from 62 in 2019 to 66 in 2021. Pedestrian, cyclist and motorcyclist fatalities have decreased considerably: 183 pedestrian deaths, 64 less than in 2019;
21 cyclists killed, 11 less than in 2019;
123 motorcyclists killed, 25 less than in 2019.
However, the figures are higher than the European average in the case of pedestrians and motorists.
In Spain, pedestrians killed by accidents in the city represent 44%, while the average for the European Union is 37%.
This same situation occurs with deceased motorcyclists, which in Spain account for 29% of the total number of deaths in cities, while the community average is 18%.
On the other hand, in Spain the percentage of cyclists killed in the city is 5%, compared to 14% in which the community average is located.
On interurban roads, during the past year in traffic accidents, 1,116 people lost their lives, 120 deaths less than in 2019, a decrease of 10%.
On highways and expressways, 316 deaths have been registered (7% less than in the pre-pandemic year) and on conventional roads, those with a single lane in each direction and without physical separation, the deaths have been 800 (11% less than in the previous year). 2019).
The General Directorate of Traffic points out road accidents as a unique problem, since 11 out of every 100 deaths on the roads die from being run over.
In 2021 there were 118, three more than in 2015.
The mortality rate stood at 32 people killed per million inhabitants, one of the lowest in the European Union in 2021, and lower than that of countries with a long tradition in road safety such as Finland and Austria (40), Belgium (43 ) and France (45).
The average rate of the countries of the European Union stood at 44 deaths.
