National
New crackdown against speeding drivers in Spain
By h.b.
Apr 14, 2008 - 4:36 PM

The DGT traffic authority in Spain has announced a new campaign against speeding drivers, who they say were the cause of one in four of the accidents seen across the country last year.

During its duration 2,000 traffic police will keep a close eye on some 305 mobile radar speed traps, which will check on as many as 100,000 vehicles every day. That means that over the campaign as many as a million and a half cars are likely to be clocked. A similar campaign carried out by the DGT last August found that about 2.5% of the cars clocked were above the speed limit.

Particular attention this time is being made on normal roads which are not dual carriageway, given that they saw the deaths of some 2,000 people last year. A radio and TV campaign will warn drivers of the crackdown, and remind them that under the new penal code any one who travels at more than 200 km/hour on a motorway, or more than 110 km/hour in urban areas can face a three to six month prison sentence.

Meanwhile although number of fatalities on the roads this year is lower than last, over 20% of those to die so far this year were on two wheels, often high-powered motorbikes.

More information DGT website – www.dgt.es