Chapter 36. Spain

Definitions applied in Spain

• Road fatality: Person killed immediately or dying within 30 days as a result of a road crash.

• Seriously injured: Any injured person hospitalised for more than 24 hours as a result of a road crash.

• Slightly injured: Any injured person who was not hospitalised for more than 24 hours as a result of a road crash.

• A MAIS 3+ injured person: Any person with road crash injuries for which the score on the Maximum Abbreviated Injury Scale is 3 or more.

Data collection

In Spain, there are several sources of information for traffic injury data. The police collect detailed information and data on the circumstances of the crashes using a dedicated form. Traffic police monitor the condition of those injured for 24 hours after the crash to classify the person as killed, seriously injured or slightly injured.

From 1993 to 2010, the procedure to estimate the number of people killed within 30 days among those initially recorded as seriously injured was based on adjusting the number statistically, after monitoring during 30 days a representative sample of seriously injured people. From 2011, the number of fatalities has been determined by linking the register of crashes reported by the police and the national deaths register, which includes the total number of deaths registered throughout the national territory.

Information on road crashes from hospital discharges and health sources and information reported by the police revealed important differences in 2014:

• Figures from police records show that for each person killed there are 6 seriously injured and 69 slightly injured.

• Figures from health sources show that for each fatality there are 11 people hospitalised and 282 slightly injured.

Since 2011 Spain has reported the number of MAIS injured based on hospital data. The methodology has recently been revised, in the framework of the work that European Member States are conducting with the aim of having harmonised data in the CARE database. Now the search for specific traumatic injury codes is performed not only among main diagnoses, but among the 14 diagnoses that may be recorded for each patient. As a result of that, whereas the overall number of crash-related inpatients has barely been altered, the number of identified MAIS3+ cases increased by 23%.

The procedure to obtain MAIS3+ consists of several steps:

• A number of selection criteria are applied to hospital discharge data to obtain the records of those injured due to road traffic crashes.

• International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes, 9th revision, are converted into AIS codes using an algorithm provided by the European Commission.

• Finally, the MAIS score is calculated.

Road crashes in 2016 – provisional data

Based on provisional data, the overall number of road fatalities within 24 hours – outside and inside urban areas – increased in 2016 by 3.8%. Figures of fatalities within 30 days are not yet available.

Road crashes in 2015

In 2015, the number of fatalities was 1 689, one more than in 2014. The police reported number of injured persons hospitalised decreased by 1%, and the reported number of non-hospitalised injured persons increased by 7%, partly as a result of better reporting by local police forces.

The number of reported injury crashes increased for the third consecutive year. In 2015 they were 6.8% higher as compared to 2104 and 14.3% higher as compared to 2010. The variation since 2010 depends on the type of road: -11.8% outside urban areas and +36.4% inside urban areas, suggesting again that the increase in the overall figure could be partly related to the improvement in crash reporting in urban areas.

Between 1990 and 2015 the number of fatalities and hospitalised injured fell by 81% and the number of non-hospitalised injured increased by 14%. Limiting the analysis to the period between 2000 and 2015, the number of fatalities fell by 71% and the number of hospitalised injured by 66%; the number of non-hospitalised injured increased by 2%.

Comparing 2015 to 2014, the biggest increases in the number of fatalities are observed in motorcyclists (15%), pedestrians (9%) and users with ages between 25 and 34, and between 75 and 84 years (increase of 12% in both groups).

Traffic

Between 1990 and 2015, vehicle-kilometres increased by more than 80% on the Spanish State Road Network, which carries more than 50% of the overall traffic volume outside urban areas.

Overall, between 2000 and 2015, traffic volume outside urban areas increased by 11%. However, while the traffic volume effectively increased (by 23%) between 2000 and 2007, it decreased by 14% between 2007 and 2013 due to the economic downturn. In 2015, there was an almost 4% increase as compared to 2014. This is the second consecutive year showing an increase in traffic volume. GDP growth was 1.1% and 3.7% in 2014 and 2015, respectively.

The vehicle fleet nearly doubled between 1990 and 2011. In 2012 and 2013, the number of both new registered vehicles and the vehicle fleet slightly decreased. In 2015 and in 2014 there was an increase in the total number of vehicles as compared to the previous year.

In 2015, the progressive ageing of the vehicle fleet over recent years continued. The median age of the fleet was 11.5 years.

Road safety

Analysis of seriously injured data

In 2014, 19 507 people with road traffic injuries were discharged from Spanish private and public hospitals – including those who died in hospital.

When considering the number of people injured with a Maximum Abbreviated Injury Score of 3 or more (MAIS3+) in 2014 there were 6 343 people seriously injured, 4% less than the 6 613 seriously injured registered in 2013.

By age, the over 84 group suffered from more serious injuries, 51% of them showed MAIS3+ in 2014, followed by those aged 75-84 years, with 43%, and the 65-74 year age group at 41%.

Table 36.1. Road safety and traffic data
	1990	2000	2010	2014	2015	2015 % change from
						2014	2010	2000	1990
Reported safety data
Fatalities	9 032	5 776	2 478	1 688	1 689	0.1	-31.8	-70.8	-81.3
Injury crashes	101 507	101 729	85 503	91 570	97 756	6.8	14.3	-3.9	-3.7
Injured persons hospitalised	50 301	27 764	11 995	9 574	9 495	-0.8	-20.8	-65.8	-81.1
Serious injuries (MAIS3+)		12766	7331	6 343	na
Deaths per 100 000 inhabitants	23.3	14.4	5.3	3.6	3.6	0.2	-31.8	-74.8	-84.4
Deaths per 10 000 registered vehicles	5.1	2.2	0.7	0.5	0.5	-1.1	-31.9	-77.5	-90.1
Traffic data
Registered vehicles1 (thousands)	17 615	25 715	33 375	33 037	33 413	1.1	0.1	29.9	89.7
Vehicle-kilometres2 (millions)		208 508	241 131	222 689	230 840	3.7	-4.3	10.7
Registered vehicles per 1 000 inhabitants	454	642	718	710	719	1.3	0.2	12.0	58.6
← 1. Including mopeds.
← 2. Outside urban areas.
https://doi.org/10.1787/888933580878

Figure 36.1. Road safety, traffic and GDP trends index 1990 = 100

Source: World Bank (2017) (GDP; constant prices).

Road safety by user group

Since 1990, all user groups, but especially car occupants and moped riders, have benefited from improvements in road safety. The decrease in fatalities among moped riders is partly explained by the decrease in the number of sales (98% between 2000 and 2015).

Between 2003 and 2007, there was a very sharp increase (+72%) in the number of motorcyclists killed; this trend was broken in the following years, with reductions almost every year since. Between 2007 and 2015, the number of motorcyclists killed was reduced by 48%.

Since 2010, there has been improvement for all road user groups. In 2015, fatalities increased among pedestrians, moped riders and motorcyclists, and decreased among cyclists and car occupants.

Figure 36.2. Road fatalities by road user group in percentage of total, 2015

Road safety by age group

Since 1990, the reduction in fatalities has benefited all age groups, with the highest reduction of more than 92% for children and young people, while the reduction was much less remarkable for the over 65 age group (-55.5%).

In 2015, the over 65s accounted for 30% of fatalities. They are the age group most at risk in traffic, with a fatality rate above the average. Older people are particularly vulnerable as pedestrians.

In terms of the mortality rate per 100 000 inhabitants, progress has been most remarkable for young people aged 18-20, for which the rate has been divided by four since 2007. They now have a fatality rate similar to that of the general population.

Figure 36.3. Road fatality rates by age group Deaths per 100 000 inhabitants in a given age group, 1990-2015

Box 36.1. Road safety for an ageing population

The senior population has steadily been increasing in Spain. The share of persons aged 65 or over increased from 16.6% in 2010 to 18.5% in 2015. It is projected that this share will further increase to more than 32% by 2050 (Eurostat http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/main/home).

In 2015, senior citizens represented 30% of fatalities and 17% of seriously injured. The absolute number of fatalities among senior persons decreased from 529 in 2010 to 505 in 2015. This reduction of 5% is the lowest among all of the age groups; the overall reduction in fatalities for the whole population was 32% in the same period. The evolution within the groups of the senior population has not been homogenous: there were reductions of 16% in the group of 65-74 years and 8% in the group of more than 84 years, as opposed to an increase of 10% in the group of 75-84 years.

In a similar manner, the number of seriously injured among those aged 65 or over decreased by 1% in 2010-2015, as compared to a 21% reduction for the whole population.

Differences in reduction rates between fatalities within senior and general populations are reduced when we take into account the growth of the total number of senior inhabitants. Per million inhabitants, the number of senior persons killed decreased by 13% and the number of seriously injured by 10%; the rates for the general population were 32% and 21%, respectively.

The distribution of fatalities among the over 65s by user type shows only slight variations over recent years. About 40% of them are pedestrians and another 40% are car occupants. Changes are more visible when looking at the share of senior citizens in the general population of killed drivers and pedestrians. In 2015, senior citizens represented 19% of killed drivers – in 2010 the figure was 15% – and 57% of killed pedestrians – 45% in 2010.

Males represent 65% of fatalities and 55% of seriously injured senior persons.

In Spain, driving licences have an administrative validity of 10 years for drivers under the age of 65, and five years for drivers aged 65 or over. In the case of licences for heavy goods vehicles and buses, the validity is of five years for drivers under 65, and three years for older drivers. Shorter validity periods may apply if the driver suffers from conditions or deficiencies that, while not preventing them from driving, may worsen over time.

A mandatory medical check is required for renewing the driving licence. Minimum standards of physical and mental fitness from the European Directive 2006/126/EC apply. If, anytime between legal renewals, the road traffic authority has evidence that a driver no longer meets any of the requirements concerning physical and mental fitness, the driving licence shall be revoked.

Senior people are one of the target groups of the Spanish Road Safety Strategy 2011-20. Measures to improve their safety include information and awareness campaigns, improvement of medical checks, obtaining risk exposure data and promoting technical recommendations on safe urban design, including 30 km/h zones.

Table 36.4. Road fatalities among senior citizens
	65-74		75-84		85+
	2010	2015	2010	2015	2010	2015
Pedestrians	70	66	91	101	51	42
Cyclists	8	6	4	9	3	1
Moped riders	12	7	6	5	1	1
Motorcyclists	6	13	0	4	0	0
Car occupants	127	88	88	91	19	27
Total	240	202	209	229	80	74

Figure 36.4. Road fatality rates by age group – focus on the senior population Deaths per 100 000 inhabitants in a given age group, 2000-15

Figure 36.5. Road fatality rate by age and road user group Fatalities per 100 000 inhabitants, 2015

Road safety by road type

In 2015, 69% of fatalities occurred on roads outside urban areas. Approximately 30% of fatal crashes are run-off road crashes, typically on rural roads. Since 2000, while the whole road network benefited from significant improvements, the smallest progress was achieved on urban roads.

Risk exposure data is only available for roads outside urban areas. The number of vehicle-kilometres travelled on those roads decreased by 4%, while the number of fatalities decreased by 35%.

Figure 36.6. Road fatalities by road type

Speed

In 2015, inappropriate speed was reported as a contributing factor in 9% of injury crashes and 20% of fatal crashes.

In 2015, 26.6 million vehicles were checked for speed (mobile checks), and 4.6% were driving above the limit (this proportion was 4.0% in 2014 and 6.5% in 2013).

The table below summarises the main speed limits in Spain.

Drink driving

In Spain, the blood alcohol content (BAC) limit is 0.5 g/l for general drivers and 0.3 g/l for novice and professional drivers.

Between 2001 and 2015, random preventive alcohol tests have been tripled and the positive tests have been reduced by almost a third. In 2001, the Traffic Division of the Civil Guard carried out 1.6 million preventive tests, and 5% of them tested positive. In 2015, 5.0 million preventive tests were carried out and 1.4% tested positive.

According to the National Institute of Toxicology, in 2015 the percentage of drivers killed who tested positive for the presence of alcohol was about 29%.

Drugs and driving

The Traffic Division of the Civil Guard carried out 76 040 saliva drug tests in 2015, as compared to 29 643 in 2014. Nearly 70 000 of the tests were preventive, with a rate of positives of 33%.

According to the National Institute of Toxicology, in 2015 the percentage of drivers killed who tested positive for the presence of drugs other than alcohol was about 14%.

Seat belts and helmets

Seat belt use has been compulsory in front seats outside urban areas since 1974 and in front seats inside urban areas and rear seats since 1992.

Children with a height of less than 135 cm must be seated on rear seats and use a dedicated child restraint system (CRS). In 2015, five of the 13 children (under 12) killed in road traffic as car occupants were not using a CRS or seat belt.

Helmet use is compulsory for riders of all powered two-wheelers. The helmet wearing rate is nearly 100%. Nevertheless, in 2015, 5% of motorcycle users killed outside urban areas were not wearing a helmet, and in urban areas 10% did not use a helmet. As for moped riders, among the 28 fatalities outside urban areas, four were not wearing a helmet. On urban roads, three out of 28 killed moped riders were not wearing a helmet.

Distraction

Distraction is a concurrent factor in 29% of injury crashes. It is a more prevalent issue outside urban areas (36% of injury crashes) than inside urban areas (25% of injury crashes). Factors that may affect attention are the use of mobile telephones, radios, DVDs, witnessing a previous crash, looking at the environment, absent-mindedness, and sudden illness or indisposition.

One of the main reasons for distraction is the use of the mobile phone while driving. In 2015, the Traffic Division of the Guardia Civil issued 94 986 tickets for the use of a mobile telephone while driving, which represented a decrease of 18% as compared to 2014.

Since 2002, the use of hand-held mobile phones while driving is forbidden. Only hands-free phones are permitted. As of 1 July 2006, driving while using hand-held mobile phones, GPS or other communication devices entails the loss of three points from the driving licence.

Sleepiness and fatigue

There is no estimate of crashes due to fatigue.

Organisation of road safety

The agency that centralises most aspects of road safety is the Directorate-General for Traffic, which belongs to the Ministry of the Interior. The core responsibilities of the DGT are at a national level on all interurban roads, except for the Basque Country, Catalonia and part of Navarre. Key missions of the DGT include:

• Issuing and renewing driving licences and vehicle authorisations, regulating and licensing private driving training schools, and supervising the Roadworthiness Inspection System.

• Registering vehicles, drivers and traffic offences.

• Controlling traffic and enforcing traffic law on all interurban roads.

• Managing the Traffic Division of the Civil Guard (the police body in charge of traffic control and traffic law enforcement), with around 10 000 officers.

• Centralising road traffic statistics and co-ordinating crash investigations.

• Developing road safety strategies, plans and policies, in coordination with other relevant ministries or public bodies.

• Supervising driving information and road safety education campaigns.

Road safety strategy for 2011-20

The Spanish Road Safety Plan 2011-20 was adopted by the Council of Ministers on 25 February 2011.

Road safety targets

The main objective of the Spanish Road Safety Strategy is to reduce by 2020 the rate of road fatalities to below 37 per million inhabitants. This target is aligned with the European objective of halving the number of people killed by 2020. A mid-term review of the strategy is currently being conducted. This review includes an evaluation of the measures taken in the first half of the decade and a proposal for revised targets.

In the framework of the Road Safety Strategy, a number of indicators and targets were adopted. These are being monitored annually.

Table 36.8. Targets and performance indicators of the 2011-20 road safety plan
Indicators	Reference figures in 2009	Figures in 2015	Target figures 2020
Reach a fatality rate of 37 deaths per million inhabitants	59	36	< 37
Reduce by 35% the number of serious injuries	13 923	9 495	9 050
No child (<12) killed without a child restraint system	12	5	0
25% fewer drivers between the ages of 18 and 24 killed or seriously injured at weekends	730	353	548
10% fewer drivers killed above the age of 64	203	200	183
30% fewer deaths due to being run over	459	306	321
1 million more cyclists without their death rate going up	1.2 cyclists killed/100 000 population	1.2 cyclists killed/100 000 population	1.2 cyclists killed / 100 000 population
Zero deaths in cars in urban areas	101	61	0
20% fewer deaths and serious injuries amongst motorcyclists	3 473	2 928	2 778
30% fewer deaths due to having come off a single carriageway	520	285	364
Less than 1% positive tests for alcohol in random preventive tests	6.7%	n.a.	< 1%
50% reduction in the percentage of light vehicles which exceed the speed limit by more than 20 km/h	12.3% (motorways) 6.9% (dual carriageways) 15.8% (single carriageway limit 90 km/h) 16.4% (single carriageway limit 100 km/h)	n.a.	6.2% (motorways) 3.5% (dual carriageways) 7.9% (single carriageway limit 90 km/h) 8.2% (single carriageway limit 100 km/h)

Figure 36.7. Trends in road fatalities towards national target

1. National target to reduce by 2020 the rate of road fatalities to below 37 per million inhabitants.

2. EU target of halving the number of people killed by 2020.

Road safety management

• The licensing system is being reviewed regarding both theoretical and practical tests with more focus on safe and responsible driving.

• DGT is improving its crash data information systems with the progressive inclusion of new parameters, such as risk exposure, descriptive analysis and time trends. Specific measures include: adoption, collection and dissemination of MAIS3+ indicators; collaboration with regional governments in order to link police and hospital registers; collaboration with the Ministry of Justice to collect data from post-mortem analyses; collection of exposure indicators based on odometer readings and mobility surveys.

• In 2014, the following changes to the Law on Road Safety were approved:

  • zero tolerance for alcohol, drugs and medicines at non-therapeutic doses

  • immobilisation of the vehicle if a child restraint system appropriate for the minor passenger is not used

  • prohibition of the use of radar detectors

  • introduction of procedures to facilitate cross-border exchange of information on road safety related traffic offences, following EU Directive 2011/82.

• In 2014, a new code was passed regulating the communication of road crash data to the National Register of Victims of Road Crashes. It entered into force on 1 January 2015. This new rule was accompanied by the establishment of a new crash form to be used by traffic police officers at the scene of the crash.

• In the area of criminal offenses related to road safety, a protocol was signed between the Ministries of Interior and Justice for the notification by electronic means of information on penalties and security and precautionary measures. This protocol will improve the enforcement of penalties implying the deprivation of the right to drive motor vehicles and mopeds.

• Regarding sustainable mobility and the protection of vulnerable users, the DGT signed with the Network of Walking Cities an agreement for the development of joint activities to improve road safety, in particular relating to pedestrian safety. The agreement aims to coordinate the actions of the Directorate General for Traffic and the Network of Walking Cities in activities designed to promote pedestrian mobility through the exchange of information, experiences and knowledge, and technical advice and participation in conferences and other public events organized by both entities.

Road users

Infrastructure

• Heavy goods vehicles are being diverted from rural road sections, with a high risk of crashes involving this type of traffic, to high capacity roads.

• A number of measures have been recently announced to improve safety on rural roads, including: improvement of safety on sections with high risk of overtaking related crashes, actuated junctions, implementation of panels informing drivers of their current speed, a new methodology for the identification of high risk sites, revision of criteria for the location of fixed speed cameras, signalling of sections with high cyclist exposure, installation of road stripes in sections with high risk of run-off crashes.

Vehicles

• The content in the national vehicle register was expanded in 2014 to include more technical data and information relating to technological safety elements, interventions carried out at garages, changes to the vehicle and kilometres driven, the rescue sheet, active safety elements and the rating stars awarded at the European New Car Assessment Programme (EuroNCAP).

• Regarding child safety, the Road Traffic Code was amended, so that all children under 135 cm tall must be seated in the rear of vehicles, and be using the appropriate child restraint system for their size and weight.

Post-crash measures

• Implementation of the Road Traffic Accident Victims Unit in 2013 to support traffic casualties and their relatives and inform them about available private and public services.

References

Abellan et al. (2011), “El valor monetario de una vida estadística en España Estimación en el contexto de los accidentes de tráfico”, DGT, Spain.

DGT (2016), “Main figures in road safety data, Spain 2015”.

World Bank (2017), “GDP (constant US$)”, World Development Indicators, http://databank.worldbank.org/data/reports.aspx?source=world-development-indicators (accessed 23 February 2017).

Websites

• General Traffic Directorate: www.dgt.es (accessed 16 May 2017).