Plainclothes Mossos d'Esquadra will check if you are distracted while driving.

BarcelonaA Mossos d'Esquadra officer may appear where you least expect it. This is the summary of a campaign by the Catalan police to detect distracted drivers, which began this Monday and will end this Sunday. Day and night, around forty Mossos d'Esquadra vehicles patrol the country's roads (with increased presence on the most troubled ones) in an attempt to catch them. caught red-handed Drivers who, for example, are looking at their cell phones. The key is that these officers are in cars and also on unmarked motorcycles. They are plainclothes Mossos d'Esquadra so that the driver thinks no one is watching them.

"We must focus on preventing distractions," says Inspector Vanessa Bohé, deputy head of the Traffic Division. Distractions are present in 30% of fatal accidents, and the campaign, promoted by the Catalan Traffic Service, seeks to address this conflict with more preventive messages on the roads and through social media, but also with an intensification of police work. This is a plan that usually takes place more than once a year (they also target alcohol consumption and speeding) and now coincides with the Easter holidays, when there is an exponential increase in mobility. It also coincides with a rise in road fatalities at the beginning of the year, with 44 fatalities in four months. "They were dark months," Bohé admits.

The police are responding by increasing the visibility of branded vehicles to "provide security," in the inspector's words, but also by using plainclothes officers to catch drivers who become overconfident because they don't see the police nearby. This week, the Mossos d'Esquadra are doing this, but local police are also working 24 hours a day. The ultimate goal, according to the inspector, is to improve road safety. She reminds us that sometimes the simple act of picking up a cell phone may seem harmless, but one must be "aware of the consequences it can cause," such as "putting oneself in the shoes of someone who loses a family member." "Driving is complex; we must be 100% focused," the inspector reflects.

The main distractions

Typically, the Mossos d'Esquadra identify distractions when they see erratic driver behavior. "The star of distractions is the cell phone," says Inspector Bohé. The police commander reminds that cell phones cannot be used while driving, even if they're stopped at a traffic light. "You have to park in a designated spot," she adds. This range of infractions also includes tampering with screens if they're not related to driving. Currently, using a cell phone while driving is punishable by 200 euros and three points. If the manipulation occurs while moving, with the phone in hand, the loss of points can rise to six.

However, the inspector warns that distractions don't end there. From smoking to eating, including applying makeup, shaving, or turning around to talk to a passenger. At this point, the inspector warns that these are not penalized as such by the regulations, meaning that they will not fine a person they see smoking if it doesn't constitute a distraction. However, they will report a person who smokes and is clearly distracted while driving. These fines are around 80 euros and do not entail a loss of points.