The Asturian roads experienced in 2023 an increase in accidents related to motorcycles: 15 of the 38 people who lost their lives on interurban roads were users of this type of vehicle.
For this reason, the Traffic Sector of the Civil Guard of Asturias and the Provincial Traffic Headquarters have designed a special campaign of control and surveillance of motorcycles that, in its first phase, will be developed from today and until Sunday, May 12, and that will continue throughout the year in those periods in which a high circulation of motorcycles is foreseen.
The number of motorcyclists killed in 2023 was three times higher than in 2022. The motorcycle park has grown in Asturias during the last decade by 37 percent to reach almost 69,000 registered units. To this must be added the favorable weather factors of recent years that favor a greater number of days for the enjoyment of these vehicles and the growth of mobility, especially during the summer months, also motivated by the tourist influx.
Faced with the need to provide an adequate response to the worrying evolution of the accident on motorcycles, the Traffic Sector of the Civil Guard of Asturias together with the Provincial Traffic Headquarters, have carried out a detailed study of the serious and very serious accident of these vehicles during the years 2022 and 2023.
From the data collected, it is observed that motorcycle accident rates represent a low percentage of the general accident rates and, however, the number of deaths and serious injuries caused by users of these vehicles is significantly high.
In the analysis of road accidents, on the one hand the day of the week in which the accident occurred has been taken into consideration, differentiating from Monday to Friday and weekend, and on the other the month of the accidents, separating from May to September, which are considered summer, and the rest.
Percentage distribution of motorcycle accidents
Within each period, the roads on which accidents occurred have been identified, establishing two groups, those with a greater number of accidents that are considered priority and those in which, despite having a lower number of accidents, these are recurrent, and those that are called “special”.
Some of the roads identified as priorities are the following: N-634, N-632, N-630, N-625, A-66, A-8, AS-19, AS-15, AS-17, AS-117, AS-114, AS-379, AS-227.
On the other hand, the typology and causes of accidents with motorcycles have been taken into consideration, analyzing aspects such as the type of accident, vehicles involved, characteristics of the motorcycle involved (brand, year of registration, cylinder capacity, weight power ratio…), the driver (age, age of the permit A,), state of the motorcycle, and other causes that could be determinant.
FACTORS TO MONITOR
It is intended to carry out an integral control of the vehicle, the driver and, where appropriate, the passenger, aimed at complying with the specific regulations, namely: use of the helmet, presence of alcohol and/or drugs, tyres, license plate (visible and readable), lighting, power limitation…
At the same time, other infringements that are observed or known will be monitored. To this end, it is considered a very important resource such as the enhancement of air-surveillance services, so support services will be programmed for Air Media Unit (UMA) patrols using drones (RPAS).
In short, it is a question of making motorcycle drivers aware of the need to exercise extreme caution while driving, to pay attention to traffic, to maintain safety distances, to be attentive to signage, to adapt driving to weather conditions, to have good equipment and of course to make use of the helmet.
INADEQUATE SPEED
In the year 2023, in 7 of the 15 deaths (46%) the inadequate speed appears as the main concurrent factor. And the roads are not a circuit and are not conditioned as such, especially in the curved sections (possible existence of gravel, obstacles on the road, etc.), so it is important to moderate the speed and adapt it to the conditions of the road.
Therefore, in the planning of the services, the patrols will make use of the different kinemometers they have, on sections of the road with greater presence of motorcyclists, and in those in which due to their conditions they are susceptible to pseudo-sports driving, prioritizing the notifications of sanctions at the time, given the psychological power of the same to correct risky behaviors at the same time as they occur.
In order to strengthen the campaigns, the variable signage panels available to the DGT will inform the DGT and display specific awareness messages aimed at the motorcycle user community.
ROAD SAFETY REDUCTION PACKAGE
Last month, the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, presented a package of measures with which the General Directorate of Traffic intends to reduce the number of traffic accidents and their lethality, which in Asturias, in addition to the aforementioned increase in motorcycle surveillance, are specified as follows:
1. Increased automated speed monitoring
Installation of new fixed speed control points, several of them of stretch.
2. Increased alcohol and drug controls, speed and distractions
The operational objectives set by the Provincial Traffic Headquarters of Asturias include a 20% increase in alcohol and drug controls, a 20% increase in speed controls and a 10% increase in distractions.
In 2023, 135,848 alcohol and drug screening tests were conducted with a balance of 3,676 penalties, 6,495 reported radar complaints and 2,342 distraction complaints.
3. Stepping up surveillance on professional transport
This month, from the 7th to the 10th and from the 13th to the 16th of May, a specific ITV road campaign will be carried out for industrial vehicles (both in conventional and on motorway and motorway). It will verify the status of crucial elements for safety such as braking equipment, tyres, lighting, chassis and coupled elements, among others.
In addition, more alcohol and drug checks will be carried out on professional drivers.
4. Promotion of actions with the holders of the road
This includes a specific analysis of the accident in collaboration with the Civil Guard Traffic Group and the owners of the roads, the updating of service orders based on the framework instruction of surveillance of the general director of Traffic and the collaboration with the owners of the roads to identify stretches where the safety of users can be improved through infrastructure measures.
5. Promotion of a preventive culture
Impulse, in collaboration with the Asturian Institute of Prevention of Occupational Risks, of the Asturian Seal of Safe Mobility in the Company, as a tool to recognize, promote and encourage the management of occupational road safety through the implementation of Road Safety Plans in the Company.
Currently there are more than 80 companies in Asturias that have achieved accreditation.
In addition, concrete actions will be implemented to promote public awareness of the problem of road safety in all areas.