The Directorate General of Traffic (DGT) is starting today at 3:00 p.m. the Special Traffic Operation ‘Summer-2024’ to cover the 21,626,200 long-distance journeys planned in Andalusia until Sunday, September 1. Of these movements, 10.6 million are expected for the month of July and 11 million in August.
The delegate of the Government of Spain in Andalusia, Pedro Fernández, has stressed that “this time of year is the one in which the greatest number of displacements occur, so extreme caution is necessarycomply with traffic regulations and stay calm when driving to reach your destination and achieve the figure of 0 deaths at the wheel.”
He recalled that during Last summer, 38 people died on Andalusian roadswhere the provinces of Malaga (12), Granada (6) and Cadiz (6) were the ones with the highest number of fatalities. In addition, he has focused on the fact that 31.8% of the deceased were not wearing a seat belt and two of the 4 cyclists who also lost their lives were not wearing a helmet, “two vital safety elements to reduce the consequences of road accidents,” he said.
For the 1st Operation Exit, which will last from 3:00 p.m. today until midnight on Monday, July 1, 1.39 million journeys on Andalusian roads“These figures reflect the high level of mobility that will occur in just four days, which is why the DGT will activate the special regulation and control devices necessary to guarantee road safety for all users,” he said.
From the Traffic Management Centers, based in Malaga and Seville, service will be provided 24 hours a day before, during and after each special operation this summer, which, in addition to the one that begins today, will have its inflection from July 31 to August 1, in Operation August 1st; from the 14th to the 18th of that same month in Operation August 15; and, finally, from Friday, September 30 to September 1, in Operation Summer Return. All of them will be joined by special devices every weekend during the summer season.
Fire plan
The summer season unfortunately brings with it the appearance of fires, so the DGT also has the responsibility of intervening in their prevention through special attention to areas with a greater probability of suffering forest accidentsas well as managing, controlling and reporting on the affected areas and their accesses through monitoring from the Traffic Management Centres and information panels.
Staff and resources in Andalusia
More than 60 officials and specialized technical personnel They will focus on supervising, regulating and reporting on the state of the roads in Andalusia, with the support of the two aerial media headquarters (helicopters and drones) that cover the main routes used by vehicles in the community and that will focus on those points where incidents may foreseeably occur.
During the flight, they will report on the state of traffic to the Traffic Management Centres and to the Traffic Group of the Civil Guard, which will carry out the usual services of help, assistance and traffic surveillance throughout the interurban road network in Andalusia, paying special attention to those that are expected to bear the greatest number of trips.
To promote circulation in the most conflictive areas during special operations and on weekends, measures will be adopted such as Installation of reversible and additional lanes with cones and markings in the hours of greatest traffic flow and the establishment of alternative itineraries.
In addition, Road works will be haltedthe holding of sporting events and other events that involve the occupation of the road will be limited and the circulation of trucks in general and those transporting dangerous goods will be restricted, as well as special transport on certain sections, dates and times.
The DGT always recommends, before starting the trip, to plan it along the safest route to avoid unforeseen events and to find out about the state of the roads.
