Spain's Most Dangerous Road is in Alicante

The report by European Motorists Association (AEA) has identified the 270 kilometres of the most dangerous conventional roads and highways in Spain, located across 72 routes in 43 provinces. The most hazardous road section is in Alicante. Its Average Danger Index (ADI) in the 2018-2022 period was at least ten times higher than the national average.

The study highlights kilometre 0 of the A7 highway in Alicante as the section with the most accidents -110- and casualties -158- on the State Road Network from 2018 to 2022. Over 34,000 drivers travel this road daily, and it has an ADI of 175.9.

Following this is kilometre 17 of the T-11 highway in Tarragona, with 92 accidents and 145 casualties; and kilometre 12 of the A-55 highway near Mos in Pontevedra, with 58 accidents and 107 casualties, although this does not appear among the 270 most dangerous as its danger index has improved compared to previous periods.

The AEA report indicates that, in the case of conventional roads, the most dangerous sections have been located at kilometres 252 and 255 of the N-4a in Jaén province, with a danger index exceeding the national average by 198 times.

This is highlighted in the latest report by the organisation dedicated to defending drivers, which analysed the danger of the State Road Network from 2018 to 2022, based on the latest available data from the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility.

To select the most dangerous sections in Spain, AEA considered one-kilometre sections of State Network roads (RCE) with an Average Danger Index in the last five years equal to or greater than 82, meaning road sections with a danger index at least ten times higher than the national average in 2022 (8.2).

The investigation asserts that the Average Danger Index of the State Road Network decreased by 2.4 percent between 2018 and 2022 compared to the previous five-year period (8.4 versus 8.2). "However, there are still too many 'black spots' on Spanish roads that need to be corrected," it warned.

AEA acknowledges that "budget constraints may delay the necessary action on these infrastructures," but emphasised the importance of "at least letting drivers know where they are located to take the necessary precautions." Thus, it highlighted that in the 270 kilometres of the identified road network, there have been 1,591 accidents and 2,273 casualties, most of them minor.

Regarding toll roads, AEA concludes that they are the "safest" infrastructures for driving, although during the analysis period, 75 sections of toll roads were found with danger indices three times higher than the national average (4.0), where 396 accidents and 640 casualties were recorded, most of them minor (605).

In this case, the most dangerous section is located at kilometre 52 of the AP-36 in Toledo province. It is the toll road section with the highest danger index (53.4), exceeding the national average by 13 times. However, the section with the most accidents in the analysed five-year period is located at kilometre 14 of the B-23 in Barcelona, with 39 accidents and 51 minor injuries, while the section with the most casualties is at kilometre 159 of the AP-9 in Pontevedra, with 32 accidents and 56 casualties, most of them minor injuries (53).

According to the AEA report, as reported by Europa Press, Spain currently has a network of 165,995 kilometres of roads, of which 26,490 are managed by the central administration with more than 53% of the country's total traffic; 71,522 by the autonomous communities (42%) and 67,983 by the provincial councils and island councils (5%). Of the entire network, 17,666 kilometres are high-capacity roads (toll roads, freeways, and dual carriageways), making Spain the country with the longest length of this type of road in the European Union, followed by Germany with nearly 13,000 kilometres.