Spanish highway agency to reveal locations of all speed cameras

Drivers on Spanish roads will soon know the location of all speed cameras and speed traps and receive early warnings of their presence, the head of Spain’s DGT national highway agency announced on Wednesday.

“Our 2014 figures consolidate us as one of the safest countries in terms of moving around,” said DGT director general María Segui during a congressional appearance.

But the announcement follows news that the decline in road deaths appears to have bottomed out after a decade of sharp drops: 1,131 people died in traffic accidents last year compared with 1,134 in 2013.

Also, January 2015 figures show a dramatic 44-percent rise in road fatalities from the same period last year, a fact that has prompted drivers’ associations to demand new action.

Seguí said that all speed controls, both fixed and mobile, will be clearly visible along the roads, and that “there will be early warning.”

“This initiative is being adopted so that drivers will respect established speed limits, particularly on stretches of road that have been identified as especially dangerous. Violation reports are not our final goal,” said Segui. “Speed in and of itself is neither good nor bad, the challenge lies in managing it.”

The traffic chief added that the DGT website will list the location of all checkpoints, and that makers of electronic devices will be able to use this information to alert drivers of the location of the radars.

Our 2014 figures consolidate us as one of the safest countries in terms of mobility”

María Seguí, head of DGT

Seguí said the aim of the measure was to raise awareness about the need to drive safely.

The DGT recently approved a plan to raise the speed limit to 130km/h, from the current 120km/h, on certain roads. This decision has attracted significant criticism from road victims’ associations.

Despite the criticism, Seguí noted that Spain is performing better than other European countries on road safety issues.

“France and England have informed about annual rises of two to six percent in road deaths, and Germany is anticipating a two-percent increase,” she said.