Changes of doubtful relevance.
We are starting the year, a key moment to look back and reflect on where we come from and where we are. Today, specifically, we are going to focus on the policies of the DGT, the changes introduced in 2022 and how, at the moment of truth, they have not had a significant impact when it comes to reducing accidents.
In the same way that 2023 will be remembered for being the year in which a large number of LEZs were implemented, the past was because a large package of changes was established for the traffic and road safety law. On March 21, the new regulations came into force and, to this day, we still find it difficult to find the reason for many of them.
Starting with the least relevant, the law was changed regarding carrying radar inhibitors in the vehicle, a practice that has come to be punished with the loss of three points, whether the systems are connected or not.
On paper it makes sense, but when push comes to shove, whoever wants to will continue to use devices of this type, since the chances of being “hunted” using one are not very high.
In addition, in terms of radars, the presence of the fixed ones does not deter excessively from going faster than the legal speed, they simply cause strong braking to occur at the specific point to avoid a fine, which can create situations of certain danger.
The new measures that affect circulation
Within the changes that directly affect driving, three main novelties were introduced and the truth is that none of them seems particularly productive.
The first is the one that increased the fine for carrying a mobile phone device to six points.
It is a logical measure since the main cause of accidents is due to distractions and smartphones are a great source of them. However, it is something that has generated many doubts among drivers, since its application has been extended to the use of the browser, even if it is integrated into the vehicle.
The issue here is that the potential fine depends on what the agent judges at that moment, if he considers that something the driver was doing is cause for distraction, it is punishable. Now, what if what he was touching on the screen was, for example, the air conditioning or the sound system?
This is an area that leaves many doubts and that generates confusion among drivers.
The second far-reaching change was the elimination of the possibility of exceeding the maximum speed allowed on conventional roads by 20 km/h to carry out overtaking.
According to the General Directorate of Traffic itself, it is a measure “seeks to minimize the risk caused by overtaking and thus reduce the accident rate on conventional roads.”
It is something that we are not going to deny, but it does not seem like a successful change. This does not prevent overtaking on conventional roads, it means that those that still exist (and there are) and that want to be legal, have to be done at lower speeds, increasing the time spent in the opposite lane, which in turn time increases the danger.
Having the extra margin meant being able to carry out the maneuver more quickly and being able to complete it in less time, something that currently cannot be done… at least legally.
In fact, it is a measure that, thinking badly, is very friendly to the establishment of section radars in which, since there are no circumstances that allow exceeding the limit, it is easier to fine drivers.
The last measure has to do with overtaking cyclists or mopeds, for which from March 2022 it is necessary to completely invade the opposite lane, except on one-lane roads, where it can be done leaving 1.5 meters of separation.
Logically, the safety of vulnerable road users must be a priority and any driver with half a brain should leave cyclists as much space as possible, but force them to occupy the opposite lane when it would be physically feasible to pass them by stepping on it, not seems to make a lot of sense.
