The number of people killed or seriously injured on urban roads in Spain has decreased, new data has revealed.
According to the Minister of the Interior, in 2021, 417 people died and another 4,142 were seriously injured in traffic accidents on urban roads – 20 percent fewer deaths and four percent fewer hospitalized injuries than those registered in 2019.
The reduction follows the introduction, on May 11, 2021, of a 30km per hour speed limit on streets with only one lane per direction of traffic.
“417 deaths is an unaffordable amount, and we will continue working to reduce that figure, but 102 fewer deaths than in 2019 represent an enormous amount of suffering saved,” said the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska.
The statistics showed a reduction in deaths in all vulnerable road user categories. Pedestrian deaths fell by 26 per cent, the number of cyclists killed reduced by 34 per cent and there was a 17 per cent reduction in motorcycle deaths.
The figures also revealed 31 per cent fewer deaths over 64 years of age. It is the age group that has registered the greatest decrease during the past year, 155 deaths in 2021 compared to the 225 fatalities of 2019.
