New campaign targets advice at foreign drivers on Catalan roads

One in four people who die in accidents on Catalan roads are from abroad, says a new awareness campaign involving foreign consulates aimed at visitors from other countries.

The campaign from Catalonia's Trànsit road agency will be translated into seven languages, with the advice featuring on consulate websites or in brochures for transport companies.

In particular, the authorities want to combat the "sense of impunity" towards fines that some foreign visitors feel when it comes to breaking the rules of the road in Catalonia.

The study on which the new strategy is based looked at the characteristics of accidents on Catalonia's road network between 2016 and 2018.

Infraction type linked to nationality

One of the study's main findings was that people from certain countries tended to commit certain types of infractions on the roads.

More speeding fines were issued to people from Germany, Andorra, France, Italy and the UK, while documentation problems were linked with Moroccans, Portuguese and Romanians.

Consulates "very receptive"

According to the authorities, foreign consulates were "very receptive" to the idea of spreading the message of the campaign to their citizens visiting Catalonia.

After a series of meetings, the agency decided that to have the farthest reach, the advice should be in English, French, Italian, German, Portuguese, Arabic and Romanian.

The final touches are now being made to the campaign due to begin in summer, among other things, explaining how Catalonia's roads are policed and how to contact emergency services.