Balance Deaths in accidents fall in 2019, but not in the city
Regulations The scooters, off the sidewalks and no more than 25 km / h from today
Reform Measures to reduce the accident rate by 50% this decade
From this Tuesday,
between 70% and 80% of city streets according to the DGT will have a maximum speed limit of 30 km / h.
These are those with a single lane for each direction of traffic, excluding for this calculation those that are reserved or are for exclusive use.
That is, a street with two roads, one for all vehicles and the other only for the bus, will count as if it only had one lane.
The
measure
, which is part of the package announced in November 2010, will be presented this Monday in Valladolid by the Interior Minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska;
the Director of Traffic, Pere Navarro, and the mayor of the city.
The new standard even reduces the speed to
20 km / h on roads where cars and pedestrians share the same platform,
that is, without a sidewalk.
Meanwhile,
on streets with at least two full-use lanes in each direction of traffic,
dangerous goods vehicles
will continue at 50 km / h
(40 km / h).
Examples of the application of the standard appear in the following DGT twit.
Deaths in the city are already 30% of the total
In reality, it is an old wish of the DGT, accelerated by the requests of many municipalities and the federation that encompasses them, the FEMP.
It is not unprecedented either.
Madrid, Valencia or Seville already apply it in part, although none with the intensity of Bilbao or Barcelona,
which was a pioneer in these struggles and ensures that where it has been applied, the accident rate fell by 40%.
Because that is the reason that drives it within the strategy to reduce traffic deaths by 50% until the end of the decade.
According to the WHO (World Health Organization),
the risk of a pedestrian being hit by a vehicle is up to five times less at 30 km / h than at 50 km / h.
In addition,
if between 2010 and 2019,
deaths in accidents were reduced by 29.1% in Spain;
and the road accident rate was 36%,
the urban only fell 5.6%.
In this way, the victims in the city have gone from 22% to 30% of the total.
More specifically, in 2019 that figure grew by 6%, to 519 people and 82% were vulnerable users: pedestrians (almost half of the total), cyclists and motorists.
Fine of 300 euros and two points at 51 km / h
"Driving 50 on a one-way street is nonsense, whatever comes out you take it ahead,"
said Pere Navarro, director of the DGT, to justify the change. Because it also seeks to "make cities more friendly and humane" in which
the private vehicle loses weight while pedestrians gain it - also increasingly older - and, thanks to the calming of traffic, the motorcycle, the bike and the electric scooter , a
benchmark for VMP (Personal Mobility Vehicles).
None of them - with the exception of pedestrians - will be safe from the new penalties for speeding.
Where there is a limit of 30, going between 31 and 50 km / h will carry a fine of 100 euros;
at 51 km / h it will be 300 euros and two points of the permit, if it is the case.
And so on.
With the limit at 20, you only have to subtract 10 km / h to equalize penalties.
In this sense, it should be remembered since January 2, electric scooters cannot use the sidewalks or go faster than 25 km / h.
In addition, the new rule also allows municipalities, exceptionally, to raise or lower those limits.
In fact, since last year in Pontevedra, vehicles that circulate through its historic center cannot exceed 6 km / h if they share the street with pedestrians.
General support, but with nuances
Unlike the great controversy that the Government's plan to charge for free highways - and in the future, for the rest of the roads -
the new speed limits in the city have been well received
in general. On the one hand,
the aim it pursues is not tax collection
- although some City Council may fall into that temptation - but rather it is about saving lives.
And also the traffic restrictions during the pandemic have made many see the advantages
of a city where the car loses the limelight.
Thus,
victims' associations such as DIA and motorist clubs such as Race
have been in favor
,
although it fears that unnecessary traffic jams may be generated.
In addition, the Spanish Foundation for Road Safety
(Fesvial) says that support among drivers has gone from 51% in 2020 to 43.2% now.
Perhaps because of the progressive return to normality.
More consumption and less efficiency
Apart from reducing the number of accidents and their severity, the new limits will lower noise pollution in cities.
In contrast, the effect on pollution or vehicle mechanics is unclear.
Because driving at 30 km / h or even 20 km / h requires going in
lower gears and with the car more revved, which can increase consumption;
preventing particulate filters that remove many pollutants from doing their job properly, and clutch life will also be shortened on manual models as much more will be used.
The other criticism that has been made to measure
refers to the "botch" at the time of changing the signage.
According to the Afasemetra association, many cities are placing films on existing signs,
instead of new ones "which may not comply with minimum security measures."
Precisely the Government approved the new limits on November 11, but gave
a period of six months until their application for the municipalities to inform users and adapt the signals.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
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