The subdelegate of the Government in A Coruña, María Rivas, has today presented the balance of traffic and mobility on the roads of A Coruña throughout 2022, a balance that shows a figure of 42 deaths, three more than in 2019. María Rivas, has acknowledged that the data “are not good” since “at the moment when we are talking about deaths no data can be good”
As explained by the delegate of the Government in A Coruña, the balance of 2022 is marked by a notable increase in vulnerable victims: pedestrians or people who travel by bicycle, motorcycle or moped. In the province of A Coruña, of the 42 people who died, 17 were vulnerable victims (40% of the total, almost half). Of these, 11 were pedestrians over 80 years of age (8 males and 3 females).
According to the report presented this morning by the subdelegate, “all the pedestrians who died were over 80 years old, they traveled in straight areas with poor visibility but not necessarily at night and did not wear reflective garments”.
“It is important to bear in mind that in the accident in Galicia the mobility generated by the high dispersion of the population has a very important weight” said María Rivas. Galicia is the second autonomous community with the highest aging rate only surpassed by Asturias and closely followed by Castilla y León, circumstances that, as the subdelegate stressed, “explain the weight of the attack as a characteristic sinister in our community, especially in the province of A Coruña”.
The subdelegate also pointed out that A Coruña is, of the four Galician provinces, the one that presents a more complex road network, with very populated centers and a great dispersion that entails high mobility, factors that increase the risk of accidents.
In light of the data of the report presented today, the subdelegate stressed that “these figures further support the effort we are making and that we will continue to strengthen with control, prevention and deterrence campaigns”. In this regard, María Rivas said that in the coming days, campaigns will be launched among the elderly population providing them with reflective vests to encourage their use. These campaigns will also be accompanied by talks between the most vulnerable groups.
The objective, as the subdelegate pointed out, is to internalize the use of reflective garments in the same way that is done with the safety belt when someone puts himself in front of the steering wheel.
“The continuous improvement of the security of citizens in all their contexts is a priority for this Government. So we’re not going to stop until we get these numbers reduced as much as possible because neither 42 nor 3. We cannot afford a single death on our roads,” said Maria Rivas.
According to the report presented this morning at the Data Management Center of the DGT of A Coruña, the greatest number of accidents continue to occur on conventional roads and have as their main cause the inadequate speed. 26.92% of the accidents have occurred for this reason, which is closely followed by distraction in driving (which means 21.15%)
The aging of the car park, driving under the influence of alcohol or the non-use of the safety belt are other causes that affect the accident
During her speech, María Rivas stressed the need to look at the data with perspective and in the medium term, recalling that in 2000 the number of people killed in traffic accidents in the province amounted to 160. The trend, according to the report, is that every five years that figure decreases, which contributes to “having a more hopeful look”
With regard to mobility, although the figures prior to the pandemic have not yet been reached, the levels are already very approximate. In the total of Galicia with respect to 2019 mobility has been reduced by 2.1% and in the province of A Coruña it has decreased by 5.8%: it has gone from just over 222 million displacements to 209 in the past year.
The subdelegate of the Government has reiterated the commitment and the will of the Government “to fight with all the means at our disposal, balances such as the one of today because when we talk about victims there are no data a little worse or less bad, there is failure” he assured.
María Rivas has also appealed to the responsibility of the citizens in their behavior as pedestrians and drivers to try to stop these figures, “every time we pick up the phone or answer a call while driving, every time we step on the accelerator without taking into account the speed limit, we put our life and that of others at risk”
The deputy delegate thanked the “great work” that is carried out from the General Directorate of Traffic of the Northwest and from the Traffic Group of the Civil Guard” In the presentation of this balance María Rivas has been accompanied by the coordinator of the DGT in A Coruña, Victoria Gómez; by the captain of the Civil Guard Chief of the Traffic Subsector, Manuel Sodán; by the director of the Traffic Management Center, Ramiro Martínez and by Bruno Deschamps, section head of the Traffic Management Center of the Northwest Traffic.