Motorcycle accidents in Spain rise in disproportionate rates during de-escalation process

MOTORCYCLE accidents in Spain during the de-escalation process have risen disproportionately to other vehicle accidents.

The Dirección General de Tráfico (DGT) has warned that the Guardia Civil will pay special attention to motorcycle drivers due to the significant increase in deaths in the last 10 days.

During that period, seven of the total 12 road accident deaths have involved motorcyclists.

This could be due to the fact that this has been the first week in which all provinces throughout the country have been in either Phase 1 or Phase 2, allowing for greater movement within each province.

A spokesperson for the DGT said: “The DGT calls on motorcycle users to take precautions when driving, as the number of deceased motorists has increased by 41% in recent days.”

In 2019, motorcycle deaths in urban areas increased to 264, representing 24% of those killed in traffic accidents, an increase of 5% compared to 2018.

This increase has continued this year as well, as from the start of January until mid March when the state of emergency was declared, 34 motorcyclists lost their lives, two more than the same period last year.

During the period of two months from mid March to mid May, only six people lost their lives in a traffic accident.

Since May 18, the date that most of Spain entered Phase 1, that number has since doubled in 10 days.

Álvaro Gómez, Director of the DGT’s Road Safety Observatory said: “These figures concern us and show that the de-escalation seems to go hand in hand with an upward trend in motorcyclist accidents.”