A new state of alarm in Spain

a new state of alarm in spain

The Spanish government today declared a new state of alarm in Spain. With the increasing numbers of COVID-19 infections in recent days this comes as no surprise. The state of alarm will initially be in place for 15 days but the government is seeking to extend this to 9 May 2021.

The new state of alarm in Spain is not as strict as the one put in place in March 2020. The idea is to curb movement at night and possibly between regions if the situation deteriorates.

From today, a curfew is in place whereby you cannot leave your property between the hours of 11pm and 6am. This is a national curfew with the exception of the Canary Islands which has far lower infection rates than the rest of Spain.

The Central Government has given the regions some flexibility. They are permitted to move the hours of the curfew an hour either way.

Other powers the Regions will have is to restrict movement between areas under their control or even the whole province.

There are some exceptions

You can leave your property during the curfew hours but only if you have a justified reason. For example, to attend the doctors or you work during these hours.

Can you still meet friends?

The maximum number of people that can gather socially is six or less.

a new state of alarm in spain

Agreed measures to determine Regional actions

The Health Ministry has agreed an action plan with the regional authorities. There are a number of indicators that are factored into a calculation to determine this action. Regions will be graded into one of four categories, extreme, high, medium and low.

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100 most dangerous sections of road in Spain

100-most-dangerous-sections-of-road-in-spain

The Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska, accompanied by four time World Champion motorcycle rider Jorge Martinez Aspar, gave a presentation last week in which he told the audience that new signage would be displayed in the 100 most dangerous sections of road in Spain for motorcyclists. The idea is to give greater warning to motorists driving along these segments of the road network.

Averaging around 2 kilometres each in length the dangerous sections of road reach across the whole Spanish territory. A study of the sinuosity of the road and the mortality rate over the last five years helped identify the dangerous stretches.

Referring to the data held on the accident rates for motorcyclists he focused on the magnitude of the problem faced. Grande-Marlaska said, “When faced with a problem in road safety, the first thing to do is to inform and educate the user and then monitor and control compliance with the regulations that affect them.”

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A list of the 100 most dangerous sections of road in Spain

The DGT website has a complete list of the 100 most dangerous sections of road in Spain.

These chunks of the road network will now feature new signage. The new high-visibility road signs warn you that your speed may monitored. In addition, the authorities have added the mortality rate over the last few years in an attempt to force home the seriousness of the message.

More surveillance

The first sign has already appeared on the M131 at kilometre 4.3. The full roll-out is expected to be completed before Easter 2021. The plan is for further studies to try and improve the design of these sections. In the meantime, those responsible for monitoring road safety will intensify their efforts on these particular sections of the road network. Expect more surveillance and control by the road traffic authorities. This includes the use of police helicopters and drones to monitor traffic speed and illegal road maneuvers.

Part of the drive behind these latest efforts is that 2019 saw 466 motorcyclists die on Spanish roads, 45 more than the previous year. Motorcycles comprise a significant percentage of the fleet of vehicles on Spanish roads. In fact, 5.5 million two-wheeled vehicles exist in the country, which represents 19% of total vehicles but 27% of those killed in traffic accidents.

The majority of deaths were riders between the ages of 35 and 44. Most deaths occurred at the weekend on secondary roads.

Source: DGT.es

Image: ©Miguel Berrocal