Four trucks involved in accidents every day: the danger of driving on the AP-7

BarcelonaThe AP-7 motorway experienced another chaotic day of queues and traffic jams this Tuesday. The weekend was already particularly difficult, with a tanker truck overturning and causing road closures near Baix Ebre. This Tuesday, the epicenter was also in the same southern region, and it was again a truck that, for reasons under investigation, crossed the median of the motorway, colliding head-on with another heavy vehicle traveling in the opposite direction and also affecting a third truck that tried to avoid them. The driver of the first truck died in the accident. The accident caused closures in both directions that lasted for hours, with traffic jams exceeding ten kilometers. Around midday, one lane in each direction was reopened, improving traffic flow.

The Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police) received the report of the triple accident in the early hours of the morning, at 5:23 a.m. Following the accident, ten Catalan police patrols, eleven fire crews from the Generalitat Fire Department, and two units from the Medical Emergency System (SEM) were activated. The closure of the AP-7 motorway forced mandatory detours via exit 308 to L'Ampolla southbound, and via exit 322 to L'Aldea northbound towards the N-340. Reopening was initially uncertain, but the road was finally reopened to traffic around midday after extensive work removing the trucks with cranes. Traffic was still not flowing smoothly at night, with kilometers of slow-moving traffic.

The deceased driver was NV, 27 years old and a resident of Almería. The driver of the second truck involved was seriously injured and was transported by SEM personnel to Joan XXIII Hospital. The driver of the third truck involved was unharmed. The deputy chief of the on-duty fire department, Lluís López, indicated that the deceased victim was trapped under the cargo, and to be able to rescue him, they first had to extinguish the fire caused by the collision between the two vehicles.

More truck drivers involved in accidents

The director of the Catalan Traffic Service, Ramon Lamiel, expressed deep concern about these accidents involving the deaths of truck drivers. According to data from January 1st to October 31st, nine truck drivers have died on Catalan roads, triple the number for the same period last year. "We have a very significant increase, and this worries us greatly," he emphasized. According to data obtained by ARA, 1,177 truck drivers have been involved in accidents on the AP-7 highway. This data, up to October 30th, represents almost four accidents per day. This is the highest figure in recent years.

Catalonia has become a major hub for truck traffic in recent years, especially since the removal of tolls on the AP-7 motorway. Of the twenty roads with the highest volume of heavy goods vehicle traffic in Spain, nineteen are in Catalonia, and nine of them are sections of the AP-7. Traffic authorities warn that several factors are behind this increase in truck accidents, such as the aging of the heavy goods vehicle fleet, drivers' long working hours, and the exchange of driver's licenses between different countries. This, the same sources state, often means that Catalan roads are being driven by people unfamiliar with the country's road signs and traffic regulations.

Foreign truck drivers

In fact, the truck that overturned on the same highway over the weekend after colliding with a car came from Lithuania, and the driver was Ukrainian. Although its documentation indicated it was carrying industrial oil, it turned out the cargo was diesel. This complicated the cleanup and unloading efforts. In this regard, according to data obtained by ARA, nearly 36% of the truck drivers involved in accidents on the AP-7 since 2019 – data is always up to October 30th to allow for comparison with the current year – were of foreign origin. This represents 2,190 drivers involved in accidents, the vast majority of whom (1,108) came from Eastern European countries. Government spokesperson Silvia Paneque stated that the Department of the Interior is studying short-term measures to reduce accidents on the AP-7. These measures include stricter speed limits, the installation of more speed cameras, and increased patrols by the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police). So far this year, 125 people have died in accidents on Catalan interurban roads, according to the Catalan Traffic Service. 45% of these deaths involve vulnerable road users, and three out of ten are motorcyclists. Specifically, there are 39 motorcyclists, 13 pedestrians, and five cyclists. September ended with 15 fatalities on the Catalan interurban road network, almost double the number for the same period last year.