The Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, has presented the Spanish model of road safety in New York, highlighting that traffic accidents are avoidable with the right measures and necessary determination.
During his speech at the United Nations General Assembly, in the context of the High-Level Meeting to Improve Road Safety, the minister emphasized the notable reduction of accidents in the last 20 years in Spain, where the mortality rate has decreased from 128 to 37 deaths per million inhabitants.
Grande-Marlaska attributed these advances to three fundamental axes: the focus on victims and their families, the collaboration of the entire society in public policies, and the strict compliance with road legislation. According to the minister, road safety is a shared responsibility and it is essential to have the commitment of administrations, companies, and third sector organizations to promote a culture of prevention.
Among the recent measures mentioned, the implementation of a speed limit of 30 km/h on single-lane urban roads and the replacement of emergency triangles with connected V-16 beacons stands out. Additionally, Grande-Marlaska proposed reducing the maximum blood alcohol content while driving to 0.1 milligrams per liter of exhaled air. The event concluded with the adoption of a joint declaration reaffirming the commitment of the attending countries to halve deaths and injuries caused by traffic accidents by 2030, highlighting road safety as an integral component of sustainable development.
