The Government delegate in the Canary Islands, Anselmo Pestana, and the provincial head of the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) in Las Palmas, Eva Canitrot, have reported today on the intensive surveillance campaign carried out by the DGT in the Canary Islands for the control of overspeed as one of the key risk factors in road accidents.
This campaign, which has been reported at a press conference in the Government Delegation in the Canary Islands and which runs until next Sunday, aims to continue raising awareness among drivers about the existence of excessive speed as a risk factor in road traffic, which still does not have the same level of acceptance, despite the fact that in 21% of fatal traffic accidents this issue was seen as a concurrent factor.
The agents of the Traffic Group of the Civil Guard, as well as the other local police who participate in the campaign, monitor both on urban and interurban roads the risk sections associated with speed, as well as those points where the circulation exceeds the established limit and there is a high accident rate, all following the recommendations of international and European organizations that urge the agencies responsible for road safety in the different countries to monitor that the established speed limits are met.
As it is a campaign also developed at European level by the association RoadPol (European Roads Policing Network), surveillance is carried out not only in Spanish territory, but also in the other countries adhered to this association.
“The intensive surveillance campaigns we carry out from the Spanish Government through DGT and the Civil Guard Traffic Group are still very necessary. We continue to detect a lack of awareness among some drivers about the risks involved in speeding. These are unnecessary risks faced not only by them and themselves, but by those who subject us to all others,” says Anselmo Pestana.
“Driving according to the rules and respecting speed limits are two principles that we all have to keep in mind when starting our car or motorcycle. That’s what life is all about. Ours and that of others. And from the government we are not going to stop until we get to avoid all death in traffic accidents,” he adds.
In the last campaign of this type carried out in July 2024, 1.4 million checks were carried out throughout Spain, which resulted in 64,172 complaints, while in the Canary Islands 126,716 vehicles were checked and 6,505 complaints were filed.
The provincial head of Traffic highlights that the lack of awareness about the impact that speed has on accidents, particularly in the event of a traffic accident, is even more widespread in the urban area, and recalls: “Inadequate speed is present in 7% of accidents and remains the third most frequent concurrent cause. Last year, there were 218 fatal accidents throughout Spain in which this factor was present”.
The latest accident data in the Canary Islands show how so far this year (from January 1 to April 9) fatal traffic accidents have increased compared to the same period of 2024 in the two provinces, from 8 to 16, with the same number of deaths.
Speed Control Points
In addition to these periodic campaigns, the General Directorate of Traffic uses other speed control tools throughout Spain, such as fixed radars, mobile radars or aerial control from helicopters.
So far this year, 41 new radars, 28 fixed and 15 section have started operating in Spain, which are part of the plan of installation of 122 new speed control points that the DGT plans to place in 2025 to reduce the number of fatal accidents and serious injuries, since it is demonstrated that speed not only affects the risk of being involved in an accident but also that, the faster it will be harder to react in time to prevent it and the more serious the injuries will be.