2 September 2008

MADRID -- Road deaths on Spain's highways fell drastically this summer, to the lowest figure in 44 years.

Deaths on the roads totalled 450 during the months of July and August, a fall of
30 percent compared with the same period in 2007, said Interior Minister Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba on Monday.

In the first eight months of 2008, total road deaths fell by 18 percent to 1,502.

According to the minister, the drop in road deaths in the summer months under review translates into "six lives being saved each day" on highways and constitutes the lowest figure since 1964.

Another positive piece of news from the July-August figures is that road deaths among drivers up to the age of 24 saw the sharpest fall in five years.

Rubalcaba said that reduced deaths among this age group are proof that young motorists have become more receptive to safe-driving campaigns.

In the summer of 2006, Spain introduced a new points system driver's licence in a bid to crack down on speeding, drink driving and other infringements.

[El Pais / Expatica]