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Date Published: 07/04/2022

ARCHIVED - Murcia has reduced rate of fatal traffic accidents the most in Spain

ARCHIVED ARTICLE

The Region drastically improved road safety between 2008 and 2019

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Murcia has reduced rate of fatal traffic accidents the most in Spain

The nature of road traffic accidents throughout Spain has varied in the last decade: while there are more accidents in general, they have tended to result in far fewer fatalities but worryingly, more vulnerable road users such as motorcyclists, cyclists and pedestrians are involved in deadly collisions. In fact, for the first time in history, this group accounted for more than half of the total fatalities in Spain in 2019.

To examine the trend further, the Working Group on Health Economics of the University of Murcia carried out exhaustive analysis on the data between 2008 and 2019, and it found that the Region of Murcia is the autonomous community where the fatality rate due to traffic accidents has been reduced the most in the entire country.

The study takes us up to just a few short months before the coronavirus pandemic hit, an unusual period when accidents dropped overall due to fewer cars on the road because of lockdown and later, perimeter restrictions.

In the first year examined, 2008, the Region of Murcia almost tripled the national rate of deaths for every hundred accidents, but since then the community has had a complete about-turn and in 2019, it was just barely above the Spanish average.

Spain as a whole has reduced fatalities on its roads from a rate of 3.3 per 100 to 1.7, between 2008 and 2009. The Region of Murcia, on the other hand, went from 9.2 to 2.0, a striking achievement.

Madrid and the Canary Islands were the communities that present a lower risk of death due to a traffic accident per inhabitant, while the highest traffic mortality rates during this period were in Galicia, La Rioja, Navarra and Castilla y León.

The study provides a unique snapshot of the influence of road regulations on accident rates in Murcia, since a tightening of traffic rules surrounding speed, substance use and distractions behind the wheel have certainly had an impact on driving habits.

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