Speed control is one of the fronts on which the General Directorate of Traffic works tirelessly: its wide arsenal of means is responsible for monitoring that drivers respect the established limits, but had neglected a scenario. Until now they had not carried out surveillance and control tasks in the sections of works that take place on the road. Last October they added it, for the first time, to their campaign calendar and, as a result, they hunted down more than 4,500 drivers who were not driving as they should.
Speed limits in construction zones
It was during the last week of October when the DGT carried out this special action in which 140,711 vehicles were subjected to its controls: of them, 4,679 were sanctioned for different reasons. The main cause of these fines was speeding on road works: 73% of drivers committed this offence.
It should be noted that in these areas, drivers are required to drive at a different speed to the generic one of the road, it will normally be lower than this and will be marked in the circumstantial signage of the work that has a yellow background. The Highway Standard 8.3-IC for Work Signaling establishes different limits for this scenario:
- 80km/h when only the number of lanes is reduced
- 60km/h if there are temporary lanes or detours
- 40km/h so that vehicles do not have to stop if there is an alternate one-way arrangement
The rest of the sanctions
Although speeding was the most repeated offense, it was not the only one. A total of 242 users were penalized for not respecting the signs of the work (both those of the traffic surveillance agents and those of the operators without forgetting the verticals, road markings, traffic lights, cones or light beacons…).
They are joined by 153 drivers who were using their mobile phones on those sections of works and 140 who were not wearing a seat belt. In addition, 53 were sanctioned for driving under the influence of alcohol and 11 for having used drugs. The DGT considers the 34 fines filed for negligent driving, 30 for not respecting the safety distance, 24 for illegal overtaking in those areas or 22 for illegal lane changes.
The consequences
For the DGT and for the Ministry of the Interior, this is an important issue, since, according to data from the National Registry of Traffic Accident Victims, andThis year there are already two maintenance workers who have died when they moved on foot along the road. In 2021, there were 156 traffic accidents related to road maintenance and upkeep personnel.
In 19 of them, workers who worked or walked on the road or its surroundings as pedestrians were involved: seven workers were injured and two were killed by a vehicle that was speeding or whose driver was distracted. The other 137 accidents were carried out by conservation and maintenance workers who were inside their vehicles.
