Changes to traffic on the AP-7: 100 km/h speed limits on sections and further anti-accident measures

Speed is one of the main causes of accidents on roads, whether conventional roads or motorways and dual carriageways. It causes quite serious crashes that result in the death of one or several of the people involved. For this reason, speed limits exist. On motorways and dual carriageways this is set at 120 km/h, and exceeding this speed is not permitted.

However, there are occasions when the authorities that manage traffic decide that on certain sections this limit should be modified, always downward, for safety reasons. This is the case of the decision taken by the Servei Català de Trànsit (SCT) to limit the speed to 100 km/h on a section of the AP-7 motorway that runs through Catalonia.

The reason for this speed limit is the increase in accidents recorded on this road, which has seen the number of vehicles using it grow after it was freed of tolls. The number of accidents on the AP-7 has also risen, from 503 accidents with injuries, of which 32 recorded deaths or serious injuries in 2019, to 647, with 55 of them involving deaths or serious injuries.

The affected section is seven kilometres long, between Martorell and Gelida. However, it will not be a permanent limitation; it will only be activated at weekends. This speed restriction will be in force on Friday afternoons, Saturday mornings and Sunday afternoons. These are the times when the risk of accidents increases, and this limit aims to reduce accidents.

In addition, it establishes the obligation for lorries to drive in the right-hand lane during the same hours. This measure will begin to apply on 31 March, a Friday, and will be trialled for a few weeks. To detect vehicles that do not keep to the maximum permitted speed of 100 km/h, radars will be installed and the presence of the Mossos d’Esquadra will be reinforced.

In addition to this section, more radars will be installed at other problem points, so that greater control of excessive speed can be provided. This plan also includes a ban on lorries leaving the right-hand lane in the section between Calafat and Camarles, in the Baix Ebre. This measure will apply every day of the week and aims to reduce the risk of accidents caused by overtaking between lorries in an area where this risk increases.

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