The delegate of the Government in Cantabria, Eugenia Gómez de Diego, and the provincial head of Traffic, José Miguel Tolosa, today reported the road accident toll recorded in the autonomous community in 2024, which reflects a significant reduction in the number of fatalities and serious injuries compared to the previous year.
In total, there have been 16 deaths in traffic accidents on urban and interurban roads, compared to 21 in 2023, which represents a decrease of 24%. Serious injuries have also decreased from 130 to 114, while minor injuries, which did not require hospitalization, increased from 1,372 to 1,426.
The government delegate stressed that "this decrease is an indicator that road safety policies and awareness campaigns are working" and stressed that this decrease "has also occurred in a context of maximum historical displacement", although she insisted that "we must maintain the collective effort to continue reducing accident figures".
According to Gómez de Diego, the data confirm "a change of trend towards a lower severity in accidents". However, he warned that "the stability in the total number of claims reminds us that prevention must be constant." "Although progress has been made, there is still a long way to go to reduce accidents even further," he said.
Thus, he called for the need to continue to insist and raise awareness about the distractions and effects of alcohol at the wheel and for "the message to permeate the whole society", as well as the use of safety elements such as the belt, whose absence is still present in the statistics of fatalities.
For his part, the provincial head of Traffic recalled that "road safety is not only the responsibility of the authorities, but of all drivers, pedestrians and road users". He has said that awareness campaigns and preventive controls will be strengthened in 2025, "because every advance, however small it may seem, saves lives."
Tolosa concluded by pointing out that the goal for next year is to reduce the figures even further: "The data reflects an advance in road safety, but we cannot lower our guard; our goal is to achieve zero fatalities."
Both Gómez de Diego and Tolosa have thanked the troops of the Traffic Group of the Civil Guard, headed by Commander Jorge Giro, for their work and have reiterated their commitment to "continue working to make Cantabria a reference in safe mobility".
Descent in interurban and urban roads
Of the deaths in 2024, 11 were recorded on interurban roads, where the most common accidents were road exits (5) and collisions (5). In addition, 7 of these accidents took place on conventional roads and 4 on motorways. As for the types of vehicle involved, 6 cars and 4 motorcycles stand out.
By age, 4 of the fatalities were 65 years or older, 5 between 45 and 54 years old, and 2 between 35 and 44 years old. Three of the deceased did not wear a seatbelt at the time of the accident.
On urban roads, fatal accidents dropped from 7 to 5. Torrelavega was the municipality with the most victims (2), followed by Liencres (Piélagos), Parayas (Camargo) and Pondra (Ramales de la Victoria), with one deceased in each locality.
Reduction of vulnerabilities and improvements in motorcycles
One of the highlights of the balance sheet of 2024 is the reduction of deaths belonging to the group of vulnerable users, which include pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists. In 2023, this group accounted for 15 of the 21 deaths, while in 2024 there were 6 of the 16 deaths.
Likewise, motorcycle users have gone from 7 to 4 fatalities, and no deceased bicycle or moped user has been registered, consolidating a positive trend.
The total number of accidents in Cantabria has remained stable, with 3,221 accidents in 2024 compared to 3,230 in the previous year. However, the head of Traffic has highlighted the lower severity of recorded accidents, both on urban and interurban roads, and has hoped that this trend will continue throughout this new year.