D.G.T. prepares to crack down on holiday drivers in Spain

D.G.T. prepares to crack down on holiday drivers in Spain
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By h.b. - Jun 30, 2009 - 7:03 AM

Archive Photo EFE

760 speed traps will be in operation across the country in July and August

760 radar speed traps, 522 fixed and 240 mobile, will be keeping close watch on the roads of Spain this summer as the trafico authorities prepare for the expected 84 million journeys to be taken on the roads over the months of July and August, some 4.5% fewer than last year.

The first official ‘Operación Salida’ when special provisions will be made to ease the traffic flow will run between this Friday and Sunday, June 3-5.
This summer there will be 9,300 traffic guardia on duty, 400 more than last year.

Director General of the DGT, Pere Navarro, announced a new advertising campaign in Spanish which asks, ‘If we all know the traffic laws, and we all know how to apply them, why don’t we?’. He also noted that more than 19,000 people had been stopped on the roads of the country with double the alcohol limit in their blood, that 1,250 drivers are in prison for repeated drunk driving, and that the number of breathalyser tests carried out this summer would be double the number seen last year.

Meanwhile last weekend saw 19 deaths on the roads of Spain. 11 more people were injured, five of them seriously. Six of the deaths were motor bikers.

So far this year 930 people have lost their lives on Spanish roads, 10% fewer than last year at the same time.

Meanwhile there has been a setback for the DGT with the decision from the Supreme Court that a driver can appeal against the loss of driving licence points. The court has ruled that an appeal can take place even if the driver has already paid the traffic fine, and declared a three month period where drivers who have lost points over the past three years have right to appeal. It comes because the Supreme Court considers the points have to have a legal consideration as they are used as a punishing measure.

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