The Directorate General of Traffic launches this Friday the first special device of Operation Summer 2026, one of the periods with the greatest mobility of the year, to ensure that the millions of trips planned are carried out with the maximum safety conditions.
Between July 1 and August 31, more than 104 million long-distance road movements are expected in Spain (3,283,000 in Asturias), of which 49.7 will be concentrated in July (1,567,000 in Asturias) and 54.5 million in August (1,602,000 in Asturias). The forecast is 3.7% higher than last summer’s number of trips, when for the first time the figure was over 100 million.
In recent years, it has been common for departures and returns to be carried out in a staggered manner, concentrating a significant number of trips on weekends and in the first days of each month. This distribution requires the strengthening of traffic management through specific special operations, both to facilitate mobility and to improve road safety in a period in which there is traditionally an upturn in accident rates.
Therefore, Operation Summer 2026 will be composed of four major special operations:
· First Special Summer Operation: from July 3 to 5.
· Special Operation August 1: from July 31 to August 2.
· Special Operation August 15: from August 14 to 16.
· Operation Summer Return: from August 28th to 31st.
The first Special Operation begins on Friday, July 3, at 9:00 p.m. 15 hours, and will be maintained until 24 hours on Sunday, day 5. In this interval the DGT has foreseen 4.8 million long-distance journeys, 142,000 of them in Asturias.
Coinciding with the beginning of the summer season, this first operation will add the displacements of those who start their holidays in the month of July and the usual weekend movements, which will cause a significant increase in the circulation intensity in the main exit roads of the large urban centers and in the itineraries to tourist destinations and second residences. During the return on Sunday, traffic will be concentrated in the direction of the urban centers, where the main retentions are expected in the afternoon and early hours of the night.
ECLIPSE
As a novelty, this year the summer device incorporates a specific planning to manage mobility motivated by the Total solar eclipse of the next 12 of August, which is expected to generate significant movements to places within the 100 per cent viewing range, with high concentrations of vehicles and people at the observation points.
Although this exceptional astronomical phenomenon can be observed from all over the national territory, in Asturias it will be visible in its entirety.
Traffic is preparing a special device, with concrete measures that it will communicate in the coming weeks.
SPECIAL CAMPAIGNS
Coinciding with the increase in mobility typical of the summer, the DGT will reinforce the surveillance on those factors associated with greater road accident. The specific motorcycle surveillance campaign will be maintained at weekends, with special attention to compliance with speed limits, overtaking, correct use of the helmet and other risky behaviors.
In addition, between the days 13 and 19 July the special campaign will be developed Monitoring and control of alcohol and drug use, intensifying the carrying out of preventive tests both on conventional roads and on motorways and motorways. Subsequently, of 17th and 23rd August, a new specific campaign will be carried out speed control, a risk factor that is present in more than 20% of cases with fatalities.
COMPULSORY USE OF THE V-16
On the other hand, this will be the first summer with an obligation to wear the V-16 to pre-signal any incident that occurs on the road and force the vehicle to stop.
Since January 1, this device must be used to warn other road users, not only physically through light but, more importantly, virtually through vehicle and mobile phone browsers and variable messaging panels located on the roads. In this way, it is facilitated that they can adopt prevention measures against the incidence that they are going to find on the road.