The traffic accidents in Cantabria claimed the lives of 18 people in 2022, five more people than in 2021, a “very negative fact”, according to the Government delegate in Cantabria, Ainoa Quiñones, who insisted that “the road accident data will never be good as long as there are people who continue to lose their lives on the roads”.
Quiñones said so this Tuesday at the press conference in which he reported on the provisional road accident balance of 2022 in Cantabria, referring to accidents with deaths at the time of the accident or in the following 24 hours.
Accompanied by the provincial head of Traffic, José Miguel Tolosa, and the commander of the Traffic Sector of the Civil Guard, Rubén Flores, the delegate of the Government has indicated that Cantabria, with those 18 deaths in traffic accidents, “reaches the highest figure of the last three years” since in 2019, 2020 and 2021, with 13 deaths, “we were registering the lowest fatal accident of the entire historical series of the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) in the Autonomous Community”.
“These data unfortunately show that mobility on the roads has completely returned to normal this last year after several exercises in which the pandemic led to a very significant reduction in travel. Specifically, mobility in the country as a whole has increased by 3% compared to 2019 and 11.7 compared to 2021,” he said.
Quiñones has detailed that in 2022 there were a total of 2,882 traffic accidents in Cantabria compared to 3,074 in 2021, which is 6.3% less, although, compared to 2019 which was the “last year of normality”, there is a 9.5% decrease in road accidents”.
2,882 ACCIDENTS WITH 18 DECEASED
As for the people affected in the 2,882 road accidents of 2022, they amounted to 1,353, of which 18 were killed, 112 seriously injured and 1,223 slightly injured without hospitalization, the delegate has detailed.
In inter-urban road accidents, 13 people died, 58 people were seriously injured and 611 people were slightly injured. The accidents with the result of death took place five on motorways and eight on conventional roads.
Of these, 10 were travelling in tourism, one on a motorcycle, one on a truck and one on a bicycle, so two of the deceased belong to the vulnerable group (pedestrian, moped and motorcycle).
In terms of the type of accidents, eight were road exits and five were due to collisions and, by sex of the victims, 12 were men and one woman.
By age group, six deaths were older than 65, two between 55 and 64, two between 45 and 54, two between 35 and 44, and one between 25 and 34. At this point, Quiñones has indicated that, “for the first time in the last 10 years, there is no young deceased, under 25 years old, and for the first time since 2016 there is no deceased pedestrian in interurban roads.”
He also pointed out that, of the deaths due to road accidents in Cantabria in 2022 on interurban roads and that they were in a tourism, “two of them did not use the safety belt, an element that as you know is mandatory and is proven to help save lives in case of an accident”.
As far as accidents on urban roads are concerned, five people died, 54 were seriously injured and 612 were mild. Of the five deceased, three were registered in Santander, two of them pedestrians and a moped driver; one in Silió (Molledo), who was the driver of a tourism; and another in Noja, who “was the driver of a Personal Mobility Vehicle, a scooter, the first time that in our Autonomous Community there is a death of a user of this type of vehicle”.
8 DEATHS IN THE LAST TWO MONTHS
For his part, the provincial head of Traffic has reiterated that “the data will never be good as long as there is only one deceased” and in 2022 18 have been registered in the Autonomous Community. At this point, he stressed that eight of the deaths were recorded in the last two months of the year.
He also reiterated that, of the 10 deaths on interurban roads travelling in tourism, two of them were not wearing a seatbelt, which is around 20%. Tolosa also pointed out that 8 of the 13 deaths in accidents on interurban roads were due to an exit, which usually occurs “due to distractions, drowsiness, use of the mobile phone or excessive speed”.
With regard to the use of mobile phones at the wheel, he pointed out that in 2022 the complaints about this have been reduced by 35%, something that has been attributed to the entry into force of the new traffic law last March and in which, although the fine for using the mobile phone while driving is maintained at 200 euros, the loss of points is increased to six.
On the other hand, the commander of the Traffic Sector of the Civil Guard has detailed that “around 25% of the deaths on interurban roads were under the effects of alcohol or drugs, or both”.