The General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) has announced a new initiative to curb road accidents in Spain., including the Canary Islands, by adjusting speed limits monitored by speed cameras.
Speeding remains the most common traffic violation on Spanish roads and significantly contributes to the high accident rate.
According to the DGT, driving above the speed limit greatly increases the risk of serious or fatal accidents.
To address this issue, the DGT has increased the installation of speed cameras at key locations and plans to adjust the tolerance limits of these radars to enhance road safety. Previously, exceeding the 100 km/h speed limit by about 7 or 8 km/h would trigger a camera. Now, the DGT has lowered these thresholds.
For fixed radars, on roads with speed limits under 100 km/h, the camera activates at just 3 km/h over the limit. On roads with speed limits above 100 km/h, the radar is triggered at 3% over the limit. Mobile radars allow a 5 km/h tolerance on roads under 100 km/h and a 5% tolerance for higher speed roads.
The DGT emphasises that excessive speed negatively affects driving and increases the likelihood of severe accidents. They illustrate this with dramatic comparisons: the impact of a crash at 50 km/h is akin to falling from the third floor of a building, at 120 km/h it's like falling from the fourteenth floor, and at 180 km/h, it's comparable to jumping from the thirty-sixth floor.
In Tenerife, speeding accounts for a significant portion of road accidents, highlighting the critical need for these new measures. Additionally, from July 2024, all new vehicles sold in the European Union must include the Intelligent Speed Assistant (ISA). This system uses sensors and geolocation to detect road speed limits, alerting drivers audibly and visually when they exceed them.
These measures aim to do more than just prevent fines; their primary goal is to improve safety for all road users by reducing the risk of accidents on Spain’s roads.
