News :Traffic signs from 100 to 90 km / h in Spain

On 2 January, the Spanish traffic service DGT reduced the maximum speed on more than 7,000 km of secondary roads from 100 km / h to 90 km / h. However, this new maximum speed does not start until Tuesday so that the authorities had time to adjust the alert.

From Tuesday, January 29, the 100 km / h signs will be replaced in many places by 90 km / h signs.

This month the Ministry of Development has replaced more than 2,700 traffic signs of 100 km / h for signals on which 90 km / h is written. The costs of this change are estimated at around half a million euros. The costs for the roads belonging to the national road system are paid by the central government, but the costs of the regional roads have to be paid by the authorities in the autonomous regions.

Why

Since more than half of all road accidents occur on the secondary roads (carreteras convencionales), the Spanish traffic service DGT has decided to reduce the maximum speed by 10 km / h.

For passenger cars and motorcycles, the speed will be 90 km / h instead of the current 100 km / h from this Tuesday, while delivery vans, campers, trucks and buses weighing more than 3,500 kg and vehicles with a cart will not be allowed to drive faster. than 80 km / h.

Only on roads where there is a physical separation between the road halves may still be driven 100 km / h, unless otherwise indicated because it is a dangerous road. On all other roads that consist of a lane without physical separation between the road halves, the maximum speed is therefore reduced.

According to the DGT, 7,000 km of roads are known as secondary roads, which is less than 5% of the total 165,000 km of roads that can be found in Spain. However, the DGT assumes that by reducing the speed limit on the secondary roads, the number of fatal traffic accidents will decrease by 10%.

Europe

Other countries with a speed limit of 100 km / h on secondary roads are Romania, Poland, Ireland, Germany and Austria. Countries such as Belgium (except in Flanders), Croatia, Greece, Italy and Portugal have a limit of 90 km / h while countries such as the Netherlands, France, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Malta have a maximum speed of 80 km / h.