The government delegate in Galicia, Pedro Blanco, called for prudence on the roads for the holiday period: “The important thing is to arrive, in the same time as in the mild.” He did so during the presentation of the DGT Summer Traffic Operation in Galicia and hours before the first Traffic Exit Operation, which begins today, at 3 p.m., and which will give priority to the prevention of excesses of speed and the consumption of alcohol and drugs at the wheel.
The presentation was held in the Government Delegation, due to the expansion works of the Traffic Management Center of the Northwest, and was attended by the subdelegate of the Government in A Coruña, María Rivas; the provincial head of Traffic in A Coruña and coordinator of the DGT in Galicia, Victoria Gómez; the lieutenant colonel head of the Traffic Group of the Civil Guard, Antonio Hidalgo; the xeneral head of the XV Zone of the Civil Guard, Miguel Ángel González Arias, and the director of the Traffic Center, Martínez.
In it, the delegate again described as “unacceptable” the high number of fatal accidents on Galician roads, with 52 victims to date, 10 more than in the same period of 2023, but, the difference of his appearance in April on road safety, pointed out that the increase is now 32% compared to 50% two months ago.
However, he acknowledged that the percentage of motorcyclists and pawns who lost their lives on the Galician roads remains very high, 23 victims, the last yesterday, representing 44% of the total number of deaths in road accidents.
Operation Output
The government delegate said that the first Operation Summer Departure will move until next Monday, July 1, 748,000 vehicles on the Galician roads. To control this operation, the General Directorate of Traffic will have 700 agents of the Traffic Group of the Civil Guard of Galicia (approximately 250 patrols per service each day), the personnel of the DGT of Galicia, the road maintenance companies and the emergency services both sanitary and firefighters.
In addition, it will have 200 radars, among fixed, mobile and section; 253 television cameras, 307 data collection stations, 83 meteorological stations, 411 variable message panels, and the Pegasus helicopter, based in Santiago de Compostela.
Increased displacement
Pedro Blanco reported that the DGT expects that during this summer 10,860,000 trips will be registered on the roads of Galicia, which is 11% of all of Spain. This figure is similar to last year’s. Seven out of every 10 trips that will be made this summer in Galicia will have origin or destination in the Atlantic provinces.
Throughout the two months of the campaign, special attention will be paid to the weekends, there will be four special operations and specific speed control and alcohol and drug campaigns. The first will take place between July 15 and 21 and will focus on speed control. In August there will be a specific alcohol and drug control campaign between the 19th and 25th of the month. In parallel, throughout the summer, the Traffic sector of the Civil Guard will continue to carry out a specific road safety action for motorists, in which agents will give them advice and information to raise awareness about their vulnerability. In this regard, the delegate pointed out that so far this year there were 15 motorcyclists killed on the Galician roads.
Dynamic controls
Pedro Blanco again focused on people who alert others to roadside checks, a behavior that “promotes negligence, protects the offender, and hopefully will soon be considered criminal.” This respect, he reported that in the summer this message will continue to be insisted on and the dynamic surveillance of the roads will continue, “rethinking the controls for more mobility and impact.”
Finally, the delegate indicated that last summer a total of 14 people lost their lives on the roads of the community, so he appealed for “that no bad decision prevents us from enjoying our leisure and our well-deserved holidays.”