Speed cameras lead to 31% reduction in traffic accidents with injuries or deaths on Catalan roads

Fixed speed cameras on Catalan roads have caused a significant reduction in traffic accidents with injuries in the past two decades.

According to a study commissioned by the Catalan Traffic Service (SCT), accidents with injuries have dropped by 31%, and accidents with serious injuries or deaths by 20%, between 2002 and 2023.

The study also suggests that the reduction in such accidents rises to 50% from the 12th year after their installation, after drivers are much more aware of their presence.

In total, authorities claim that 1,610 accidents with serious injuries have been avoided, 372 of which would have had serious or fatal victims.

Currently, there are 131 fixed speed cameras across Catalonia, which are the ones that have been analyzed.

Interior Minister Núria Parlon, and the director of the SCT, Ramon Lamiel, presented the study on Monday.

Accidents among young male drivers aged 25 to 44, those that occur due to driver error, those that occur during the day and on working days, and those that involve cars or motorcycles were the categories of accidents that have seen the biggest reductions in frequency.

It has also been detected that there is no increase in the accident rate either before or after the speed camera, between 500 and 2,000 meters away, due to sudden braking before the radar or hasty acceleration just after.

The study concludes with the recommendation of installing new fixed and signposted speed cameras at high accident points, evaluating the comparative effectiveness between point radars and section radars to determine which work better according to the circumstances, and improving the information system for mobile radars to analyze their impact compared to fixed ones.

Between 2002 and 2023, Catalonia recorded an annual average of 7,336 traffic accidents with injuries, 1,177 of which with serious injuries or deaths.