Twice as many deaths recorded on Malaga's main roads so far this year compared to 12 months ago

Irene Quirante

Malaga

Wednesday, 26 June 2024, 10:00

A total of 15 people have died in incidents on Malaga province's main roads so far this year, nearly twice as many as the eight recorded in the same period last year, new data shows.

In the whole of 2023, there were 38 deaths on Malaga's interurban network, according to Spain's Directorate-General of Traffic data. These were the worst figures for the past six years, with twice as many deaths recorded as in 2018. As this year progresses, it does not look like it will be any better, with 13 male and two female fatalities.

The latest fatal incident occurred on Sunday 23 June where A 50-year-old motorcyclist lost his life after crashing into a barrier at kilometre 146 of the A-92 in Antequera. This was the fifth motorcyclist to die in Malaga province in the past six months.

The number of motorcyclists killed so far this year has already reached the same number recorded in the whole of 2023, which ended with five victims. The first fatality of 2024 happened in early January, with a motorcyclist killed in an accident on the A-7103 road in Ojén.

That same month on 27 January another motorcyclist lost his life in an incident on the A-366, the road that connects Ronda with El Burgo. The following day, a 22-year-old man died in the same circumstances in Parauta, on the A-397. The young man was from Algeciras in Cadiz and was studying to become a nurse.

Just a few days later, on 1 February, a woman lost her life on her motorbike on the A-7, passing through the municipality of Estepona. The victim was hit by a van on her way home after finishing work. The driver of the other vehicle involved was arrested and remanded in custody, as he was allegedly drunk and driving without a licence and fled after the crash.

There have also been five fatal accidents this year in which the victims were passengers. A total of six people died in these incidents, five men and one woman.

The only incident that involved two victims occurred on Saturday 8 June, when a car plunged off a bridge on the AP-7 at Mijas and caught fire. A couple from Estepona inside the vehicle died at the scene.

In most of these accidents, deaths occurred after the cars overturned.

In addition to Mijas, incidents involving cars also blackened the map in Fuengirola, where a 50-year-old man died while driving on the AP-7 in April; in Malaga with two victims, a 35-year-old man whose car overturned on the A-45 in April and another, of whom no further details were available, who fell into a ravine on the A-7075 road in January; and also in Marbella, again due to a car overturning, which happened in early February.

Added to this is the accident involving a van in mid-April where a 45-year-old man died after driving off the road in Vélez-Málaga on the MA-3112.

Similarly, so far this year, two men have died while riding their bicycles. The first of them, aged 58, died on 4 March after being hit by a car on the A-7 in Estepona. A month later, on 4 April, another cyclist, 52, died after a fall while riding on the A-343R road in Álora.

A 40-year-old man also died on his electric scooter on the A-357 motorway in Malaga on 29 March. He was killed after being run over by two vehicles at night.

Zoom

From ten fatalities to none on the A-355 in Coín

Last year ten people died in traffic accidents on the A-355 through Coín, a notorious road which accounted for 23% of fatal incidents in Malaga in 2023, making it known as the 'road of death'.

Safety measures implemented seem to have paid off, with no fatalities on the dual carriageway in the past six months. The string of incidents on the thoroughfare last year sparked the Junta de Andalucía to paint a thick red line, the first in the region, in the middle of the continuous double line in order to emphasise the danger of overtaking on a four-kilometre stretch, as well as to encourage a reduction in speed.

This measure will also be followed by the installation of four digital signs, which measures the speed reached by vehicles as they pass and remind motorists of the permitted speed limit.