The limitation to 30 km/h on built-up roads will come into effect on May 11th
A year ago, the Directorate-General for Traffic took the decision to limit the speed on one-way streets to 30 km/h. The agency was confronted with rising accident rates, especially when it came to vulnerable road users: pedestrians, cyclists and motorists.
But in addition to limiting speed to reduce the risk of accidents, standardization would allow all users to achieve another of its objectives: that the different types of mobility coexist on the same road without having to be separated into bike lanes -and preserve the reforms it would bring.
To analyze the first year of regulatory development,
Ponle Freno-Axa Road Safety Study Center has carried out a speed study which shows that seven out of ten motorists (70.33%) respect the 30 km/h limit. on urban one-way roads.
This study, focusing on the analysis of cities such as Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Madrid and Bilbao, both when measuring speed in environments of 30 and 50 km/h, allows us to know that
Barcelona is the most respectful of compliance in zones 30, with nearly 80% complianceis apparent from the more than seven thousand measurements made in these cities.
Valencia’s high compliance in zones 30 (71%) is also notable, although the figure drops (50%) in zones 50.
As for Bilbao, where the legal limit of 30 km/h applies to all urban roads, 44% of motorists would drive below the limits, although extrapolated to the limits of the rest of Spain, 70% would meet the standard.
That is not the case in Madrid,
where only 44.9% of drivers drive below set limits: namely 46.7% below 30 km/h and 42.9% below 50. The average speed on these roads was 34.1 and 51.7 km/h respectively.
The president of the organization,
Joseph Alonso, has put forward one of the conclusions of the study on the regulation: «It draws our attention to the fact that it is accepted by the majority. There is a high level of compliance.” Alfonso has also emphasized that the rating of motorcycles as the ones that most violate the standard is due to the fact that “the perception of the sense of risk is lower” among his drivers.
“We want zero deaths on the road,” Ponle Freno’s secretary reiterated.
Xavier Olaf, who broke down the methodology used to conduct both studies. “We believe it will be a success for the citizens and the municipal councils, because ultimately the drivers are, where they behave best, in the 30 zones,” pointed out Olave’s compliance with the standard.
For his part, the public prosecutor for road safety,
Bartholomew Vargas, wanted to draw attention to the increasingly “scientific” nature of human trafficking and the commitment of the prosecution to ensure that the regulations are followed. “We have to be ambitious: we are going to fight for sustainable mobility,” he said.
Source: La Verdad

I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.