Catalonia, Andalusia, the Valencian Community and Castilla y León are the autonomous communities with the most dangerous road sections in Spain during the holiday period. This is the conclusion reached by the Línea Directa Foundation after analyzing the kilometer points where the largest number of deceased users are concentrated on the road network in our country. To do this, the authors of the study have analyzed the roads in modular sections of 20 kilometers in which at least three fatal accidents have occurred in the four holiday seasons of the last decade.
In this sense, the communities with the greatest number of critical sections are Catalonia, Andalusia, the Valencian Community and Castilla y León, while on the opposite side are Extremadura, Navarra and Murcia. Specifically, the road sections with the most deaths in the last decade in this type of displacement are located in Tarragona, on the AP-7 (km 320-334), in Burgos, on the old N-1 (km 254-278), and in Girona, on the C-33 (km 6-9).
Catalonia has 19 critical sections, with the sections with the highest number of fatalities being in Tarragona, specifically on the AP-7 (km. 320-334); in Girona, on the C-63 (km. 6-9), and in Barcelona, on the B-10 (km. 3-10) and on the C-55 (km. 21-43).
It is striking that the most dangerous stretch of road in all of Spain during the holiday period is a motorway -the aforementioned AP-7 between kilometers 320 and 334-, since in principle this type of road is the safest. Throughout the last 10 years, on this stretch of road, 18 people have lost their lives and another 52 have been injured in road accidents.
Línea Directa points out that the most frequent accident in summer is leaving the tracks. This type of claim increases 1.6 points at this time of year compared to non-holiday periods. In addition, frontal collisions, rollovers and collisions with obstacles also increase significantly. All the accidents of this type are closely related to fatigue and distractions while driving.
Likewise, it is worth noting a rise in summer in accidents on conventional roads, where two out of every three road accidents occur. In addition -adds the report-, there is a very revealing circumstance: they usually occur near the destination, which could be caused not only by fatigue, but also by a certain relaxation of the driver when seeing the proximity of his arrival.
This type of accident tends to affect men more, with an increase in frequency in the younger age groups, especially from 18 to 29 years.
This summer the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) estimates that 95 million long-distance journeys will take place. The agency, through social networks, has called on drivers to take extreme security measures. However, according to the data from the report 'Go and return. X-ray of traffic accidents in summer trips in Spain (2012-2021)', from Línea Directa, the habits of Spanish motorists must change a lot to avoid recklessness.
The figures that the study shows regarding the responsibility of drivers are alarming. 15.5 million drivers (56%) do not properly plan the route, another 15 million (54%) confess to exceeding the speed limits on their way to their vacations and 17 million (61%) do not follow the recommendations of the DGT regarding stops and breaks. In addition, more than half do not take turns with other passengers to drive, an attitude that is especially frequent in men, and 82% do not know how to correctly place the load in the vehicle.
But perhaps the most striking aspect of the habits of Spanish drivers when traveling on vacation comes hand in hand with alcohol, since 6 million motorists (23%) admit to drinking beers and even mixed drinks during summer outing and return trips. In addition, 25% of those surveyed admit to eating copiously during these journeys, a circumstance that can favor drowsiness and heaviness.
