The subdelegate of the Government in Pontevedra, Maica Larriba, today called on the pawns to take all the necessary self-protection measures to avoid atrocities. He made this warning during the presentation in Barro of a new campaign by the Directorate General of Traffic to distribute reflective vests throughout the province to help pawns increase their visibility. The subdelegate accompanied this morning the agents of the Traffic Group of the Civil Guard, who began in the parish of Portela, place of passage of pilgrims as it was crossed by the Camino de Santiago, the distribution of high-visibility reflective vests. The event was accompanied by the provincial head of Traffic, Paula Yubero; and the captain of the Civil Guard, Antonio Pérez Piteira.
Maica Larriba explained that this campaign aims to sensitize all users, both pawns and drivers, about the importance of seeing and being seen, as well as complying with the rules of circulation, so that no person is injured. The campaign will be based on the distribution of vests among vulnerable users, in particular, pawns, cyclists and motorcyclists, so that their movements are more visible to us. “In 2023, four vulnerable users have already died on the interurban roads of the province,” Larriba reported. Second, the statistics show that vulnerable users are more likely to be involved in a traffic accident and therefore more likely to be injured or die.
The figures for the first four months of the year, leave in the province a negative balance with the death of a motorcyclist -due to the exit of the road in Cercedo-Cotobade-, and 3 pawns -a deceased in the La-55 when he got out of his vehicle and was run over, and two people died when they were run over by a vehicle that lost the contro on the terrace of a bar in Vilaboa. In total, in 2022, the violations of pawns accounted for 3.1% of accidents with victims in the province of Pontevedra and accidents with victims - dead, slightly or seriously injured - involved bicycles on 40 occasions, mopeds on 32, and motorcycles on 135.
“We have a great concern about this group, so from today until Sunday we will be on the roads focused on these users. The agents and agents of the Traffic Group of the Civil Guard will deliver these reflective elements to pawns, pilgrims and pilgrims and cyclists,” explained the subdelegate. All those people in this group who do not wear a vest, will receive one from the General Directorate of Traffic. And they will also be provided with specific printed material with recommendations and standards. “The goal is zero victims. And to reduce them, we do so with two ways of working: raising awareness among pawns, cyclists and motorcyclists about their vulnerability and raising awareness among drivers,” he concluded.
The importance of making yourself visible
Making oneself visible is vital, especially when travelling on tracks without sidewalks and in conditions of low luminosity, not only at night but at sunrise, at sunset or on any day of bad weather, which in our province equals the great part of winter. According to DGT data, at night or in bad weather, the distance at which the driver detects the presence of a pawn can be only 20 meters if the pawn wears dark clothes and the track does not have artificial lighting. That distance goes up to about 40 meters and she wears light-colored clothes, but putting on the reflective vest increases her to more than 150 meters.
The vest, always recommended for driving by road
The use of this safety element, in any case of very low cost, is mandatory for pawns that circulate along the roadside or, if necessary, along the road, between sunset and sunrise or in conditions of reduced visibility, although it is highly recommended to use it whenever you have to travel by road, any time of day.