Traffic wants to eliminate the extra 20 km / h in overtaking

Since the end of the 70s, in Spain it is authorized to accelerate up to 20 kilometers per hour over the limit allowed to overtake on two-way roads, which are capped at 90 km / h for passenger cars. In those years there were no motorways and this license was granted to facilitate the flow of traffic, without considering that the increase in speed causes more serious or fatal injuries in accidents. However, all the countries of the European environment have eliminated this possibility to prioritize road safety about traffic management or the need to get to the next town sooner. And the DGT has taken the opportunity to do the same in the reform of the law of the card by points that the Government sent to Congress in March. The proposal has run into a broad reply, that on this occasion it does not charge Traffic for its alleged tax collection effort, but instead argues reasons related to road safety.

Six parliamentary groups, including the parties in which the coalition government regularly relies to carry out its initiatives, PNV and ERC, have presented amendments destined for it is still allowed to overtake at 20 kilometers per hour above the allowed speed. Some of these parties, such as the PNV, dispatch their allegation with a mention of a “technical improvement & rdquor; but others such as ERC or Cs, curiously with similar wording, assure that “mathematical models show that, if this margin is eliminated, both distance and time will be increased necessary for overtaking, especially in vehicles such as trucks or buses & rdquor ;. And “increasing this time and space so disproportionately, unnecessarily increases the risk of suffering a serious sinister& rdquor ;, say the Republicans.

Motorist Associations

And Vox is more verbose in his allegations and points out that “there are many voices & rdquor; that have risen against the DGT’s proposal, such as the drivers associations RACE or Mutua Motera, among others. In addition, the company appeals fines Dvuelta has commissioned a report from the industrial engineer Juan Jose Alba Lopez in which the researcher concludes that for a car 4.5 meters in length, the prohibition to exceed 20 km / hour means increasing the time to overtake a 16.5 meter truck by 200%, while the distance traveled increases 145%. “Can it be thought that this contributes to reducing the risk in the overtaking maneuver? & Rdquor ;, asks Alba in a report that is being echoed.

Faced with this controversy, several victims associations They have approached the deputies who have to process the regulation to demand that they not destroy the DGT initiative. Likewise, the Assembly of Driving School Workers of Catalonia, ATAAC, which assures in a document of observations on the norm that the margin of 20km / h “encourages that drivers want to go faster, instead of having a more peaceful attitude & rdquor; on a type of road where “the most present asphalt, weather and unforeseen conditions are & rdquor ;. “Users only consider that if the other vehicle is slower, they can overtake it with a margin that they then continue to use, without considering that if the maximum speed is 90 and the vehicle in front is slower (83km / h), perhaps overtaking is not necessary”.

European trials

In turn, the Foundation for Road Safety, Fesvial, points out that the proposal to eliminate the extra 20 km “is based on analysis, studies, trials and even crash tests in different research centers & rdquor; of the EU, given that “overtaking is the first cause of accidents on conventional roads and maneuvering deadliest”.

In 2019 there were 896 deaths on these roads, 3 out of 4, hence these roads are a priority in the fight against accidents. From them, 239 died from head-on collision, 42% motorists, so the objective is “to minimize the risk scenario, not encourage it & rdquor; in a context in which “there is also concern about the effect of high-speed traffic on vulnerable users such as pedestrians or cyclists& rdquor ;, as explained Álvaro Gómez, director of the Road Safety Observatory, dependent on the DGT.

Rationalize the maneuver

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Gómez asserts that maintaining excess kilometers “makes communication difficult& rdquor; speed limit and “invites overtaking & rdquor ;, which“ is perhaps the most risky maneuver, so it is a question of seeing to what extent it is necessary, something that is being studied throughout Europe & rdquor ;. “With the current network of motorways and expressways, the starting point must be rationalize with safety criteria overtaking on the tracks of one lane in each direction & rdquor ;, points out in statements to EL PERIÓDICO.

In addition, the extra 20 km are causing many of the fines imposed by the section radars, since the drivers claim that they are overtaking, are annulled, with the approval of the judges.