In an effort to increase safety measures for motorcyclists, the Guardia Civil will intensify surveillance using undercover camouflaged motorbikes to monitor motorists on Canary Islands roads, as announced yesterday (Friday) by the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska.
The safety of motorcyclists ranks among the top priorities for the traffic authorities in Spain (DGT), so, control and surveillance campaigns targeting this group will be intensified on weekends between June and October, the months with a higher presence of motorbikes on the roads.
Camouflaged motorcycles will be deployed on roads in regions with the highest accident rates in Spain, including Andalusia, Valencia, Galicia, the Balearic Islands, and the Canary Islands.
Marlaska explained that 95 new speed radars will be installed and an additional 400,000 breathalyser tests will be available due to the "alarming" 16% increase in road fatalities of motorcyclists recorded in the first quarter of 2024.
Furthermore, the Traffic Department of the Guardia Civil will be reinforced with 150 new agents. This implementation will commence "immediately" as the Directorate General of Traffic (DGT) aims to enhance road safety and reduce the number and severity of accidents.
In the first quarter of 2024, some 261 people were killed on interurban roads, an increase of 36 fatalities compared to the same period last year. Marlaska described this figure as "unacceptable" and alarming, given that usual fluctuations in road accidents typically hover around 5%.
