The General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) is concerned about the increase in accidents in which motorists are involved. In recent years, this vulnerable group has experienced an alarming growth in the incidence of road accidents. Last year, 299 motorists died on Spanish roads, 18% more than in 2022, which turned on the red light in the Ministry of the Interior, which announced a series of measures that it intends to implement this year, which could be add a proposal that comes from Brazil and that consists of the creation of an exclusive blue lane for motorcycles.
Valtair Ferreira, head of mobility for Sao Paulo, was one of the guests at the first International Motorcycle Road Safety Conference, held this week at the Mobility City of Zaragoza. During this event, he participated in a round table with his counterparts from Barcelona and Milan, where they shared the local strategies and policies that are being implemented in their respective cities to improve urban mobility.
In his speech, Ferreira, aware of the complexity of the coexistence between motorcycles and other vehicles, highlighted the success achieved in reducing motorcyclist accidents through the establishment of an exclusive blue lane for motorcycles in some areas of Sao Paulo. The city has 1.3 million motorcycles registered and they are responsible for one in three traffic accidents.
The project was launched in early 2022 on an 18-kilometer stretch of road. Blue road markings were painted to delimit an exclusive lane for motorcycle circulation. The width of the lane is adapted to the dimensions of the motorcycle and runs alongside the traditional lanes on which the rest of the vehicles circulate.
Ferreira pointed out that the success of the creation of this motorcycle lane will mean that by the end of the year, Sao Paulo will have 200 kilometers of blue motorcycle lanes. “It is still little, but we think that this initiative can not only make motorcycles safer, but will also speed up traffic in general.”
According to Ferreira, 96.9% of motorcyclists and 87.3% of all drivers consider that the blue lane for motorcycle circulation is an improvement for traffic. But even better is the assessment made by the head of mobility of Sao Paulo after the implementation of this new road marking on some stretches of road in the city. “The first results show that we are avoiding deaths and reducing serious injuries by more than 30%.”
The creation of exclusive blue lanes for motorcycles could be expanded to other countries in the world, including Spain, due to its effectiveness both in reducing the accident rate of these vulnerable users and due to the fluidity of traffic. The project is not new. In Manila (Philippines) the first lanes of these characteristics were created in 2011 and to circulate on them it is essential to complete prior traffic education training and affix the badge that certifies completion of the course in a visible place on the motorcycle.
At the moment, Pere Navarro, general director of Traffic, has not commented on the possibility that the DGT ends up implementing this new road marking on Spanish roads. But he left the door open for changes. “Let's see what we can do in the city to rethink urban design a little and adapt it to a changing reality. We did it based on the car. Now there are more motorcycles and fewer cars, so maybe we have to rethink the design in cities a little,” Navarro said.
In this sense, it is worth noting that in 2023, around 199,000 motorcycles were sold in Spain when 92,000 examples were sold ten years ago. In the last five years, motorcycles have gained significant weight in the park, as they have gone from sales of 13% of total vehicle registrations in Spain to 17% in 2023.
