Driving authorities doU-turn on ‘name and shame’

20 May 2004

MADRID – Driving authorities did a U-turn Friday on plans to name and shame those found guilty of drink-driving or speeding.

The General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) said Thursday it would publish any penalties, fines or jail terms which offenders faced.

It said it would place special emphasis on publicising the names and circumstances of drink-drivers or aggressive driving which caused accidents.

But 24-hours later, it changed its mind and decided to scrap the plan, fearing it could violate offending drivers’ rights to privacy.

After taking legal advice, the DGT was forced into an embarrassing U-turn and said it would not launch the campaign. 

Drink-driving and speeding are the two biggest causes of fatal accidents on Spanish roads.

In February, figures showed traffic  fatalities on Spain’s highways had dropped almost 10 percent since the beginning of the year, but weekends were still deadly with the number of victims up more than 14 percent compared to the same period last year.

In the month of January, 275 people died on the nation’s highways, or 9.3 percent fewer than the same month in 2003 when 303 people perished in accidents, according to DGT figures.

But weekend deaths for the month this year were up by 14.6 percent to 141. 

[Copyright EFE with Expatica]

Subject: Spanish news