July 2006 was the day that a raft of new measures came into effect, designed as they were to change behaviour on Spanish roads. For a while we drove with these new sanctions in mind and we did alter our behaviour for the better. Also, the traffic police were pumped up for action, but one year later we are all sliding back to our bad habits, and the memory of the details has faded into the background.
At the top of the list of bad habits is our attitude towards stop signs, give-way signs, traffic lights on red, one-way streets, and of course, speed limits.. We have tended to regards these as mere suggestions. For a short while it was quite noticeable that adherence was much improved, and accident statistics reflected this. Lately however, I have noticed a regression back to the way that it was, and in some cases, behaviour is even worse.
I apologise for putting it this way, but frankly I really can’t think of a more polite way to say that sheer stupidity is at work in most cases involving crashes. If stupidity could only be outlawed and banished I wonder how much of an impact that would have.
The person who deliberately drives through a stop sign or red light is simply being stupid.
The person who drives at a speed that clearly endangers other road users is simply being stupid.
The person who passes the car on the right, only to promptly pull over into the right lane and then goes off into the exit lane, thereby cutting up the other car is being incredibly stupid.
And above all, when we drink to the point of being impaired, and regardless of that we get in our cars and drive, not only are we taking stupidity to its ultimate level, we are also being just about as irresponsible as we can be.
Speed:
The section dealing with speed is one to be carefully considered. Firstly, it would appear that an allowance is now being generally made whereby should you exceed the posted speed limit by 10 km/h nothing happens. That is not guaranteed!
Information taken from a page that appears to be posted by the Department of Traffic, (the DGT) on the internet gives the following chart: For a driver caught driving at between 101 and 120 km/h in a 90 km/h zone the penalty will be a fine of 120 euros, but no loss of points.
For a driver caught driving at between 199 and 208 km/h, the fine is 450 euros and a loss of 6 points. This would be considered a very serious offence.
Evidently, the rules have changed, because a year ago there was no 10 km/h free allowance, and by exceeding the posted speed limit by 50% or 30 km/h this was considered to be a “Very Serious” infraction. Very Serious meant the loss of one’s driving permit on the spot. It was simply taken by the Guardia Civil officer.
Someone once said that “Spain would not be Spain without alcohol impaired drivers.”
This is the one area in which the police seem to have actually stepped up their pressure. That is just as well because when we consider local custom it really is frightening. Alcohol has traditionally played such a prominent role in daily life that it’s no surprise that it is a factor in most collisions.
Forget starting the day with a coffee and a brandy. Forget stopping in at regular intervals throughout the day in the bar to tank up personally with a coffee and a brandy or scotch. Forget having a beer at the conveniently placed bar on the forecourt at the service station. Take a pass on that beer with the bocadillio at 11am, and wine with lunch. Entirely too many people lose their lives through this type of behaviour. Should a driver be caught driving over the alcohol limit while driving against the normal flow of traffic, (the wrong way) he loses 6 points per offence. i.e. all 12 points gone. Should he also be speeding at the time he will not be seen legally driving for some considerable time to come.
Should you lose your license it will be gone for at least six months, and before it will be returned you must take a driver’s re-education course during which you must spend at least 24 hours in the classroom. At the end you must pass a theory test.
For new applicants trying to obtain a driving permit the process is extremely difficult. Some people experience several tries and failures before finally passing the theory test. These people have done nothing wrong. I think it is reasonable to assume that if a person had a license and lost it for avoidable reasons, the likelihood that the license will be returned in six months is highly remote.
Other than the objective of changing driving behaviour, I believe that there is a second objective. I may be wrong as to whether authorities have it as a stated mission, but the end result will be the same, and that is a significant reduction of traffic on the roads. Certainly we have all seen the effect of so much more traffic. The building of so many new urbanisations in isolated locations requires that inhabitants have their own transportation. Consequently, 10,000 new housing units suggests at least that many new cars. In some areas saturation point has already been reached and we are headed for gridlock in the cities.
Finally, it has been reported that during the last 12 months, more than 5,000 drivers have lost more than 20 points each. Incredible!
While our annual death toll on the roads still hovers around the 3,000 mark, believe it or not, things are improving. Contrast that with the 5,790 deaths in 1997, with another 500,000 injuries sustained.
The granddaddy of all is the United States. In 1994, 40,676 people lost their lives on American roads, with another 4,100,000 injuries sustained.
Drive safely. The life you save may be mine! Thank you!
Stop Press! The road death figures have just been released for the periods, year-over-year 2005-2006, and 2006-2007. Throughout Spain, 3,272 people lost their lives unnecessarily between July 1, 2005 and 2006, but during the 12 months just ended the figure dropped by 14% to 2,795 deaths on the road. Compared with the awful year of 1997, that means that last year 2,995 fewer people died on our roads, so we are definately doing better.
Another very uncharitable way to put it is that every time a lunatic driver kills himself the roads are made a little safer for the rest of us. The shame is that almost always he takes others with him.
Copyright (c) 2007 Eugene Carmichael
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