Heavy rains, strong winds, problems on Rodalies... The start of the year for Imma Solé as deputy director of Civil Protection has been intense. She speaks to ARA from the Emergency Centre of Catalonia (CECAT), in the Ministry of Interior, a space where she has spent hours and hours locked away managing emergencies.

Speed limits will be reduced, and there will be more speed cameras to ensure that drivers, especially truck drivers, are actually respecting the speed limit. These are two of the main measures announced this Thursday by the Catalan Interior Ministry to address the increase in fatal accidents on the AP-7, Catalonia's busiest motorway. The data for this artery of the country's circulation is not good.This year, up to 15 people have lost their lives, more than double the number from last year. "The goal is to improve road safety to reduce fatalities and serious injuries," stated the Minister of the Interior, Núria Parlon, at a press conference this Thursday morning, where she also announced enhanced training for non-EU truck drivers. As reported by ARA this past weekend, the Interior Ministry is focusing on trucks, and these measures will be accompanied by increased monitoring of heavy vehicles. In fact, starting next month, trucks will be limited to 80 km/h on the AP-7 highway section between Calafat (Baix Ebre) and Amposta (Montsià), precisely the area where two serious truck accidents—one fatal—occurred 10 days ago, causing hours of traffic jams. Similarly, passenger cars will have to reduce their speed to 100 km/h. These restrictions will only apply to southbound traffic and are expected to come into effect next month. The Ministry of Transport, which owns the road, is already working on the new signage. This strategy will initially be in place for six months. The director of the Catalan Traffic Service (SCT), Ramon Lamiel, pointed out that at this point on the Ebro River, some accidents have been linked to vehicles leaving the road, which is why they have opted to reduce the speed limit. Trucks are not allowed to proceed along this stretch, and it was found that 2% of them violate this prohibition. The speed limit will be accompanied by increased radar enforcement to ensure compliance.