National
Twenty percent fall in fatalities on Spanish roads in 2008
By h.b. - Jan 5, 2009 - 7:53 PM
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The number of people to die on the roads of Spain in 2008 was 2,181. The number represents an average of six deaths a day, but is 20% down on 2007 – with 560 fewer lives lost. The number is the lowest seen in Spain since 1964 when there were far fewer cars on the roads.
However the official figures are misleading as they do not include the fatalities of people who have died more than a month after an accident, and nor do they count those who died in Urban areas.
Despite that the number was welcomed by the Minster for the Interior, Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, who described the improvement as ‘very significant’ noting that the number of cars on the roads was 20% higher than in 2003 and the number of drivers was up 15%.
However the number of trips taken was only 5% higher, given the price of petrol and the economic situation for much of 2008.
The main cause of accidents, 41%, is when a car leaves the road, and it is the non-motorway roads which see 72% of the accidents.