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Spain's roads claimed 240 lives during July and August 2026, twelve more than the same period last year and a 4% increase on the previous summer. Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska did not mince his words when presenting the figures on Monday: "This has been a bad summer," he said, noting that an average of four people died every day in traffic accidents during the two months.

 

For Murcia, the numbers are particularly concerning. Twelve people died on regional roads over the summer, compared to just four in the same period last year, a rise of eight deaths. That gives Murcia the second-highest year-on-year increase in the country, behind only the Valencian Community, which recorded 12 more deaths than last summer.

 

The figures come against the backdrop of a broader road safety picture that has been evolving in Spain for two decades, since the points-based driving licence was introduced in 2006 and helped drive annual road deaths down from over 4,400 to under 1,800.

 

Nationally, the region with the most deaths was Andalucía with 38, followed by Castile and León with 34 and the Valencian Community with 25. Some regions did see improvements: Andalucía recorded ten fewer deaths than last summer, Catalonia nine fewer and Galicia four fewer.

 

The overall summer picture was uneven. July ended as the third lowest July on record for road deaths, with 110 fatalities, while August went in the opposite direction, becoming the deadliest August in the past decade with 130 deaths.

 

There were some genuinely positive findings in the data. Motorcyclist fatalities fell to 54, eighteen fewer than last summer, marking the first time since 2014 that the daily average has dropped below one motorcyclist death per day. Marlaska highlighted this as a meaningful break in an upward trend.

 

Pedestrian and cyclist deaths, however, moved in the wrong direction. Twenty-six pedestrians were killed, three more than last summer, with 13 of the 17 killed at night or dusk not wearing any reflective clothing. Cyclist deaths rose from nine to twelve.

 

Among the age groups, the 15 to 24 bracket recorded eight more deaths than last summer, at 31 fatalities, while the 45 to 54 age group also saw eight more deaths, with 49 in total. Run-off-road crashes remained the most deadly type of accident, accounting for 37% of all fatalities.

 

Despite the increase in deaths, the number of seriously injured people fell by 10% to 926, even as long-distance journeys rose by 1.5% to exceed 102 million trips over the two months.

 

 

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