The special 7-day traffic campaign launched against driver distraction issued 4,201 fines to drivers on Spanish roads between April 4 and April 10. The vast majority of them, 3,387, were fined for using their mobile phone manually while they were behind the wheel.
The Interior Ministry pointed out in a press release this Monday that using your phone while driving quadruples the risk of an accident and is comparable to the risk of driving while under the influence of alcohol.
The campaign monitored almost 4,000 vehicles in all Spain’s autonomous communities, with the exception of Cataluña and the Basque Country where responsibility for such matters falls to each region. The traffic also fined 38 drivers for programming their GPS while driving, and another 169 for using headphones or earphones connected to apparatus other than mobile phones.
Twenty four percent of the drivers who were pulled over were found to be using hands-free mobile phones. The Ministry notes that, while this is permitted by law, it is still a risk as it reduces a driver’s concentration.
Driver distraction is one of the main causes of fatalities on Spanish roads, and was involved in 48% of the 329 fatal accidents which have taken place so far this year until April 14, killing 169 people.
It was the cause of 684 traffic fatalities during 2010.
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