The National Confederation of Driving Schools considers that the EU objectives for the 2021-2030 decade in terms of road safety are in danger. “It is going to be a lost decade, if we do not take measures now,” says the president of CNAE, Enrique Lorca.
The entity calls on the authorities and the political class to reinforce the theoretical and practical education received by those who wish to be drivers. CNAE insists on the urgency of implementing awareness modules for driving license candidates and guaranteeing practices on conventional roads.
ROAD ACCIDENTS: THE NUMBER OF DEATHS AND INJURIES, AT PRE-PANDEMIC LEVELS
In 2022, 1,746 people died in our country due to road accidents, nine less than in 2019 (reference year)*. These are deaths on all types of roads open to traffic and within the first 30 days from the moment the accident occurred. «We are like before the pandemic; even worse, because the last significant decrease in the number of deaths (Covid aside) occurred in 2013,” Lorca emphasizes.
Also in 2022, of the 97,935 accidents with victims (deaths, serious injuries and minor injuries), 2/3 took place on urban roads and 1/3 on interurban roads. Now, 73% of the deaths occurred in the latter, the same as 10 years ago. In addition, of the 1,270 deaths on interurban roads, 73% died on a conventional road, and the remaining 27% on a highway or highway. “Conventional roads are undoubtedly the most important of all the pending issues with regard to road safety in Spain” – states the head of CNAE, and adds –: “Objectively, driving on them entails a greater risk; “All the more reason for the students of the driving schools to receive training in line with the true challenge that these roads represent, in which the slightest error or carelessness can be fatal.”
Other data: 77% of the deceased were men and 23% were women, and here are the most important concurrent factors in fatal accidents: distraction (31%), inappropriate speed (23%) and alcohol ( 29%). «We will not tire of repeating that people do not kill themselves on the road because of ignorance of the rules, but because of a lack of awareness about the consequences of violating them or because of a wrong decision; We must awaken that conscience and teach how to decide well; hence the need for the modules I referred to before.
THE EUROPEAN DECADES, FROM MORE TO LESS
During the first decade of road safety in Europe (2001-2010), declared by the EU with the objective of reducing the number of deaths and serious injuries by half in said period, the number of deaths fell in Spain from 5,517 to 2,478. . In the second (2011-2020), it was reduced from 2,060 to 1,755, (again we took 2019 and not 2020 as the reference year). Now, in the third decade, (2021-2030) the results do not seem very encouraging.
Something similar happens with the mortality rate per million inhabitants: in the first decade, it plummeted from 136 to 53; In the second, the decrease described a smooth curve: from 44 to 37 (if we take the year 2019 as a reference). In 2022 we remain at 37, by the way, one point more than in 2013, 2014 and 2015.
For Enrique Lorca, who also presides over the European Association of Driving Schools (EFA): «It is true that the death rate per million inhabitants in our country is the sixth lowest in the EU. We are only behind: Sweden (22), Denmark (26), Ireland (31), Germany (33) and Finland (34). We have earned a place at the top of the table in relative terms, but the problem in absolute terms is general and affects the entire EU. Stagnation is general and experience dictates that if we do not move forward, we will go backwards. It is time to act”.
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