Holy Week has concluded with bad data on fatal accidents on our roads. According to the information shared by the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT), a total of 34 people have lost their lives in the 28 accidents with deaths that have occurred on interurban roads between three in the afternoon on Friday, March 31, and midnight on Monday, April 10.
There are 7 more fatalities than in the same holiday period of 2022, in a context in which long-distance road trips have increased by 3.8%. Specifically, during the 10 and a half days, 16.4 million displacements have been registered, the highest figure for a special Easter Week operation since records were kept (2008). If we look at the historical data, not so many deaths had been recorded in this period since 2016, when 41 people died.
Likewise, it should be noted that this year there have been two accidents with at least three deaths, which have contributed to raising the tragic final balance. We are referring to the accident that took place on April 1 in Xove (Lugo), in which four young people died, and the one registered in Ribamontán al Mar (Cantabria), in which another 3 people lost their lives. These two fateful accidents have made Galicia and Cantabria two of the autonomous communities that have registered the highest increase in deaths on the roads during Easter Week.
Regarding fatal accidents, the DGT has highlighted the following information on the road on which they took place, the type of vehicle involved in the accident, the age of the deceased, the cause of the accident and the time when the accident occurred.
There is an increase in deaths on conventional roads: 27 of the 34 victims lost their lives in accidents that occurred on roads of this category.
Deaths due to road exit also increased by 15 people. While in 2022 there were eight, this year there have been 23, three of whom were pedestrians who were run over as a result of an accident of this type. On the contrary, deaths from head-on collisions have decreased: 3 have been registered compared to the 7 of the previous Easter Week.
The number of victims traveling in tourism stands out: 20, which represents an increase of 9 compared to last year and the highest figure in the last decade.
The aforementioned Xove accident has meant that the age group with the greatest increase in deaths has been recorded from 15 to 24 years, with 9 fatalities, compared to 2 last year. The group over 65 years is the one that represents the highest number of deceased people with 10.
Nine of the deceased who were traveling in cars and vans were not wearing seat belts at the time of the accident.
As in previous years, the time slot that recorded the highest number of deaths was between 7:00 a.m. and 1:59 p.m., with 14 fatalities.
The two Saturdays of Holy Week have been the days of the week in which more fatalities have occurred, with 6 and 5 deaths respectively.
