The General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) of the Ministry of the Interior carries out from this Monday and until October 12 a new control and surveillance campaign on distractions at the wheel throughout the country, including the Canary Islands, with which inspection work will be carried out by the Traffic Groups of the Civil Guard, together with the regional and municipal police who join the initiative.
The campaign, which will run until next Sunday, is part of the Global Plan of the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030 and the Spanish Road Safety Strategy 2030, which seek to halve the number of fatalities by the end of the decade.
During this week, the controls on the most dangerous sections of the conventional roads will be reinforced with the presence of the integral patrols of motorists of the Traffic Group of the Civil Guard equipped with portable means that allow them to carry out speed control actions, alcohol and drug detection tests autonomously without the need for support of the Attestation Teams or speed control teams.
“Distraction is a concurrent factor in 30% of fatal accidents, mainly due to the misuse of mobile phones, GPS navigators or other devices. For example, the use of the mobile phone multiplies the risk of suffering an accident by four, so this type of campaigns are still essential to warn of the risks involved in distracted or inattentive driving,” says the government delegate in the Canary Islands, Anselmo Pestana.
In the year 2023, a total of 1,806 people died on our country’s roads (51 more than in 2019, an increase of 3%), 9,265 people were hospitalized injured (652 more than in 2019, 8% more). In addition, 124,266 people were injured not hospitalized (6,479 less compared to 2019, a decrease of 5%).
Distracted and/or inattentive driving has remained, since 2017, the most frequent concurrent cause in traffic accidents, with greater intensity both in relation to the total percentage of accidents and the total percentage of cases with deaths. In 2023, distractions at the wheel were present in 17% of accidents and were a concurrent factor in 30% of traffic accidents with fatalities, 409 associated cases, according to data from the Directorate General of Traffic.
Three out of four drivers recognize distraction at the wheel
According to the study Distractions and accidents on Spanish roads, three out of four Spanish drivers, 76% of respondents, admit to driving distracted with some frequency, and up to 5% admit to being distracted at the wheel “almost always”. Those over the age of 65 are distracted ten times less than young people between the ages of 18 and 29.
Likewise, the Electronic Survey on the attitudes of road users (ESRA-2023) confirms the low consideration of Spanish drivers regarding the risks of using mobile phones. The study shows that 22.2% of drivers acknowledged making phone calls without using hands free on their mobile, while 24.7% acknowledged reading text messages and following social networks while driving.
Distracted drivers usually tend to fly more, have longer reaction times, and don’t perceive traffic environment information.
Improper use of the mobile, the most frequent punishable distraction
In the last campaign of surveillance and awareness of the danger posed by distractions at the wheel, which the DGT carried out between October 7 and 13, 2024, agents of the Traffic Group of the Civil Guard controlled 553,651 vehicles circulating on conventional roads, denouncing 8,548 of them for actions that represent a distraction during driving. Of the complaints made, 43.13% of them (3,687) were for using the mobile phone while driving.
In accordance with Royal Legislative Decree 6/2015, of 30 October, approving the revised text of the Law on Traffic, Circulation of Motor Vehicles and Road Safety, it is considered a serious infringement to drive using any type of audio helmet or headset connected to sound receiving or reproducing devices or other devices that diminish permanent attention to driving, as well as to use, holding it with one hand, or keeping it adjusted between the helmet and the head of the user, mobile telephone devices while driving, driving manually using navigators or any other communication system.
The aforementioned infractions are punishable by a fine of 200 euros. Also, using mobile phone devices while driving while holding hands means the loss of 6 points.