The first summer in which V-16 beacons were allowed on Spanish roads ended with a 4% increase in road fatalities compared to the previous year. The Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, presented the road accident data, classifying the summer as "bad," with almost four people losing their lives per day on Spanish roads.
During this period, 218 fatal accidents were recorded in which 240 people died, representing ten more fatalities than last summer. This significant increase occurred in a context of historic high travel, with a total of 102 million trips on Spanish roads, a 1.5% growth compared to the previous summer.
Mobility during the solar eclipse of August 12 partially contributed to this increase in travel on Spanish roads. The V-16 light beacons, which were introduced as a new safety measure to signal stationary vehicles on the road, failed to halt this negative trend in accident rates.
