Traduccion al ingles / Translation to English
Every year traffic accidents produce:
In the world:
About 1,400,000 dead
Between 20 and 50 million injured by trauma (often causing disability)
They are the main cause of death among young people under 40 years of age and almost 30% are pedestrians
In Spain:
About 1,800 deaths (3rd cause of death and 1st cause in people under 40 years of age)
About 140,000 injured
The number of deaths in Spain has been decreasing in recent years going from 4,029 in 2003 to 1,800 in 2019, due to the improvement of the roads and especially the special legislative and surveillance measures (permit by points, installation of more radars, breathalyzer controls, etc.)
Main causes of traffic accidents:
(frequently two or more of them concur)
Human factor (90% of accidents)
Alcohol consumption (30-50% in fatal accidents)
Excessive or inappropriate speed (20-30%)
Distractions (20-30%
(The use of the mobile phone is currently one of the main causes of distraction)
Non-regulatory maneuvers (10-20%)
Drug use (3-5% of the deceased)
Sleep pathologies (5-6%)
Tiredness, fatigue (10-20%)
No use of seat belts
No helmet use in motorcyclists
Do not use restraint systems in children
(30/40% higher risk of mortality or injury in the three previous scenarios)
Other factors: state of the road, vehicle, atmospheric, etc:
Deaths and injuries caused by traffic accidents occur with more intensity in countries and by people with medium or low social and economic levels, since they do not have modern infrastructure on their roads and use older vehicles, without the means and techniques aimed at improving safety (belts, airbags, motorcycle helmets, etc.)
Among the victims, there are mostly males between the ages of 16 and 40
Motorists, cyclists and pedestrians are at higher risk of serious accidents
Measures to avoid or reduce accidents
On the part of the governments:
- Establish strict traffic regulations and monitor their compliance
- Improve roads and traffic signs: (double track, shoulders, painted roads, signs with danger indications, traffic lights, neutralize "black spots"; eliminate junctions, level crossings, curves, paths, detours and dangerous sections ; Establish adequate protection barriers ,with continuous side screens that cover the gaps and poles of the current guardrails or "guardrails", tragic for motorcyclists)
Improve signaling, especially at night and in risk areas (flashing lights, traffic lights, reflective signs, etc.)
- Increase control instruments in cities and highways (surveillance cameras, surveillance by drones and helicopters, incognito police patrols, etc.) Increase automatic speed controls, infractions, etc., by means of electronic cameras and detectors
- Strictly penalize drivers who consume alcoholic beverages or drugs and carry out numerous selective personal checks (driving licenses, state of vehicles, alcohol, drugs, etc.)
In addition to administrative sanctions (fines, withdrawal of points or the permit, seizure of the vehicle, etc.) apply, for very serious infractions, criminal sanctions (especially weekend arrests, recycling courses, assistance to the disabled, community work, alcohol or drug detox treatments, etc)
- Also punish drivers who use mobile phones, do not wear a belt or helmet (for motorcyclists) and when seat belts or child restraint systems are not used
- Cancel or suspend the driving license of drivers who commit repeat offenses
- Carry out frequent outreach and awareness campaigns in the media and in schools (insisting on prevention measures and road safety education)
- Establish periodic reviews of vehicles
- Organize and increase more and better public transport, fast, comfortable, non-polluting and at reduced or even free prices (metro networks, trains, ecological buses, etc.) so that motorists prefer to use them and leave the private vehicle, which is expensive, noisy, polluting and above all much more dangerous
- Open many more pedestrian streets and paths or bike lanes
On the part of the drivers:
- Comply with traffic regulations and route indications (signs, traffic lights, etc.)
- Do not consume alcohol or drugs
- Do not use the mobile phone while driving (even if you have the "hands-free" system, it is better to stop to make calls or have a long conversation)
- Avoid distractions
- Adjust the speed according to the influx of traffic and not exceed the limits established or indicated on the route posters
- Avoid fatigue or drowsiness
- Wear a helmet or seat belt
- Have installed "air bag" systems - at least one front - for the driver and passenger
- Exercise extreme caution, especially when overtaking, poor road conditions or unfavorable weather conditions (rain, fog, wind, snowfall, ice, etc.)
- Maintain distances from the preceding vehicle
- Facilitate the overtaking maneuvers of other vehicles
- Announce by means of the flashing lights or by raising the arm, the intention to overtake, leave the road, slow down, etc.
- Before a trip, check the operation of the engine, lights and tires
- Carry out periodic mechanical and electrical checks of the vehicle
It is desirable that traffic accidents and their consequences decrease as the technology and applications of artificial intelligence increase; the new automated vehicles (cars, vans, coaches, trucks) without driver will be the possible solution to accidents ... ???
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SPANISH CRIMINAL LEGISLATION APPLICABLE TO TRAFFICKING CRIMES
The Spanish Penal Code defines these crimes in the arts. 379 and following ...
Art. 379
1 - Anyone who drives a motor vehicle or a moped at a speed greater than 60 kilometers per hour on urban roads or 80 kilometers per hour on intercity roads than that permitted by regulation, will be punished with imprisonment from three to six months or the fine of six to twelve months and work for the benefit of the community from thirty-one to ninety days, and, in any case, deprivation of the right to drive vehicles at engine and mopeds for a period exceeding one and up to four years.
2 - Anyone who drives a motor vehicle or a moped under the influence of toxic drugs, narcotics, psychotropic substances or alcoholic beverages will be punished with the same penalties. In all cases, those who drive with an alcohol level in the exhaled air greater than 0.60 milligrams per liter or with a blood alcohol level greater than 1.2 grams per liter will be condemned to said penalties.
Art. 380
1 - Anyone who drives a motor vehicle or a moped with obvious recklessness and puts the life or integrity of people in concrete danger will be punished with imprisonment from six months to two years and deprivation of the right to drive vehicles motor and mopeds for a period of more than one and up to six years.
2 - For the purposes of this precept, the behavior in which the circumstances set out in the first paragraph and in the second paragraph of the second paragraph of the previous article agree will be considered manifestly imprudent.
Art. 381
1. She will be punished by two to five years' imprisonment, a fine of twelve to twenty-four months and deprivation of the right to drive motor vehicles and mopeds for a period of six to ten years, this who, in contempt manifests the lives of others, I will lead the conduct described in the previous article.
2 - When the life or integrity of people have not been concretely endangered, the penalties will be imprisonment of one to two years, a fine of six to twelve months and deprivation of the right to drive vehicles at engine and mopeds for the duration provided for in the previous paragraph.
Art. 382
When the acts sanctioned in articles 379, 380 and 381 lead, in addition to the avoided risk, a prejudicial result constituting a crime, whatever its seriousness, the judges or courts will only assess the most severely punished offense, by applying half the penalty and condemning, in any event, to compensation for civil liability that may have arisen.
Art. 383
The driver who, required by an agent of the authority, refuses to submit to the legally established tests for the verification of the levels of alcohol and the presence of toxic drugs, narcotics and psychotropic substances referred to in the preceding articles, will be punished with imprisonment. from six months to one year and deprivation of the right to drive motor vehicles and mopeds for a period exceeding one and up to four years.
Art. 384
Anyone who drives a motor vehicle or a moped in the event of loss of validity of the license or permit due to the total loss of the legally awarded points, will be punished with a prison sentence of three to six months or a fine of twelve to twenty-four. months or with that of work for the benefit of the community from thirty-one to ninety days.
The same sanction will be imposed on those who practice driving after having been temporarily or definitively deprived of the license or the license by court decision, and to those who drive a motor vehicle or a moped without ever having obtained a driving license or license. .
Art. 385
He will be punished with a prison sentence of six months to two years or a fine of twelve to twenty-four months and will work for the benefit of the community from ten to forty days, which entails a serious risk for traffic in one of the following ways:
1st - Placement of unforeseeable obstacles on the road, spillage of slippery or inflammable substances or transfer, subtraction or removal of signs or by any other means.
2nd - Do not restore the safety of the road, when there is an obligation to do so.
Article 385a
The motor vehicle or moped used during the events provided for in this chapter is considered an instrument of crime for the purposes of ss. 127 and 128.
Article 385b
In the crimes provided for in art. 379, 383, 384 and 385, the judge or the court, motivating it by sentence, can reduce the prison sentence by one degree taking into account the lesser entity of the risk caused and the other circumstances of the fact.
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Ver estos enlaces / See these links:
The roads of the future / Las carreteras del futuro
