- Mobile phone misuse while driving decreases compared to the previous year.
- Negative figures on the non-use of seat belts is growing.
- Persists the tendency for drivers not to signal lane changes with the direction indicators.
The Driving Styles Observatory is a project that annually monitors the risky behaviour of motorists and lorry drivers travelling on our motorways: use of mobile phones while driving, use of seat belts and direction indicators, maintaining safety distances, compliance with speed limits and correct use of lanes.
Mobile phone misuse while driving decreased in 2023, but drivers and passengers who do not use seat belts are slightly growing. The data legacies to the excesses of speed il also decreasing.
> Mobile phone use
The Observatory's findings from mobile stations still report several drivers using their mobile phones while driving. This is 11.3% of the cases observed, 8.4% of motorists and 15% of heavy vehicle drivers.
> Use of seat belts
The number of drivers of light and heavy vehicles using seat belts while driving is decreasing. In 2023, 94.6% of drivers use it regularly, compared to 98% in 2022. The percentage of truck drivers stands at 76.3%. Backseat passengers are bucking the trend. Only 9% of them do not wear a seat belt.
> Use of direction indicators
The negative trend to not signal the return manoeuvre from overtaking with direction indicators is decreasing. In 2023, 35.3% of motorists do not signal their intention to overtake.
> Compliance with the speed limits
The survey also examined exceeding the speed limit and respecting the safety distance.
Along the A4, the average speed held by vehicles has decreased compared to 2022, reaching an average of 110 km/h. On the A31, it remained almost unchanged: 123 km/h for light vehicles and 88 km/h for heavy vehicles.
> Respect of the safety distance
The percentage of drivers who do not observe the minimum safety distance is still high: 31.5% on the A4 and 18.6% on the A31. A safety distance means a stretch of road traveled in more than two seconds, the minimum reaction time to sudden braking of the vehicle in front.
Finally, despite the recommendations, 35% of drivers maintain the habit of not occupying the rightmost lane when driving on motorways.
“The Driving Style Observatory continues to be a very effective analysis tool to allow us to understand which measures and projects are most appropriate to further reduce accident figures on the sections we manage, - commented Gonzalo Alcalde Rodríguez, Chairman of A4 Holding. - It is a tool that, on the one hand, optimizes the process of analysing risky behaviour on motorways and, on the other, allows us to activate initiatives and awareness-raising campaigns that are increasingly useful for making people understand the risks and get them to adopt appropriate behaviour to preserve their own safety and that of other travellers.”
