In the last year 2022, there have been numerous news reports warning of reckless driving offenses in the Marina Alta. The AP-7, with its double lane going up and down, has always been one of the sights for alerts. Most of them for driving in the wrong direction for several kilometers in a row.
They locate the woman who drove more than 30 km in the opposite direction on the AP-7
The truth is that there is an increase in this type of crime in the region. The data from the Alicante Provincial Traffic Headquarters provided to LaMarinaAlta.com indicate that in 2022 the offense for driving in the wrong direction in the section of the AP-7 that runs through our territory has quintupled compared to the year 2019.
In this first measured year (2019) only one offense was registered, as in 2020. In 2021 the number increased to two, while in 2022 the data rose to five offenses for reckless driving in the wrong direction. Although this trend is not only evident in the Marina Alta. The new road safety coordinating prosecutor, Luis del Río Montesdeoca, stated in his first appearance that in 2021 legal proceedings for reckless driving increased by more than 60% in 2019.
Reckless driving: what it is and what penalty it entails
Article 380 of the Penal Code refers to reckless driving as driving "a motor vehicle or a moped with manifest recklessness and specifically endangering the life or integrity of persons." The text explains that the crime "will be punished with imprisonment from six months to two years and deprivation of the right to drive motor vehicles and mopeds for more than one and up to six years."
reckless driving is one of the most serious offenses that can be done behind the wheel. Thus, the term encompasses the following transgressions:
- Driving under the influence of drugs or with a blood alcohol level above what is allowed.
- Drive in the opposite direction of travel.
- Driving at a speed much higher than the legal limit.
- Not respecting traffic signals.
What is the reason for the increase in crime?
Experts like del Río point out that, since the pandemic, drivers, due to confinement and restrictions, they have lost part of their road awareness. This may be one of the factors that have increased the serious breach of the highway code. The fact of recovering freedom has made people lose their inhibitions in this regard.
But, specifically, on the Mediterranean motorway, the increase in offenses for driving in the wrong direction may also have another explanation. The release in 2020 of the highway that can now be driven without paying tolls has consequently increased vehicle traffic on it. Therefore, the more circulation, the more possibilities of crimes.
These two hypotheses can in turn be reflected in the increase in the accident rate. According to Europa Press, the deputy general director of Education and Training of the DGT, María José Aparicio, stated last January that "The trend of road accidents is on the rise".
The public data on accidents with victims on the AP-7 as it passes through the region are one of the indicators to corroborate the deputy director's statement. While in 2019 and 2020 there were three road casualties each year, in 2021 the figure tripled, increasing to 9.
The sections of the AP-7 in the Marina Alta with the most crimes
The information provided by the Provincial Traffic Headquarters of Alicante has made it possible to locate the sections of the region that accumulate the most reckless driving in the opposite direction. The AP-7 as it passes through the region covers from kilometer 601 to 632.
In 2019, the only record of a crime for driving in the wrong direction on the Mediterranean motorway in the region occurred at km 615 as it passed through Gata de Gorgos. In 2020 and 2021, with one and two registered offenses respectively, all crimes were concentrated in the section of Benissa. These were in kilometers 622, 623 and 630. However, in 2022, with five of these crimes, three were in the term of Pedreguer, at kilometers 609, 610 and 611, and the other two remaining at Ondara, kilometers 606 and 608.
The other day I read a story... a young family had died on the road, a couple with a two-year-old child and the woman was pregnant because a kamikaze had invaded the traffic lane.
This cannot be, it could touch anyone on the road and not give us time to react.
Please, I ask for a strong hand with these undesirables, who, due to cockiness or because they have ingested substances, endanger the population.
Some of this must be attributed to the cessation of tolls because there are no barriers to entering the road in the wrong direction. Previously cars could not enter through an exit barrier, now there is no barrier.
These are not intentional crimes, they make no sense! These are accidental due to poor road or poor sign design and installation. Start investigating the system not those caught out by it, then you might find a solution. The new Benissa bypass will be an ongoing problem due to its terrible, illogical design!