VZCZCXYZ0003
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHMD #0143 0361221
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 051221Z FEB 10 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY MADRID
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 1863

UNCLAS MADRID 000143 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR OES/S NANCY CARTER-FOSTER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON SOCI UNDP UNGA SP
SUBJECT: SPAIN'S POLICIES ON DISTRACTED DRIVING 
 
REF: A. STATE 06703 
     ¶B. MADRID 14 
 
 ¶1.  Summary.  Econoff delivered reftel A demarche to Spanish 
government officials involved in the development of traffic 
regulations on February 3.  They said that Spain passed a 
2005 law making it illegal to drive while using a mobile 
communication device unless it is hands-free. The law created 
a "point system" under which drivers can lose their licenses 
for repeated infractions.  The law, together with a related 
public information campaign, has helped reduce Spanish 
driving fatalities by 45 percent.  Still, the percentage of 
accidents related to the use of mobile communication devices 
has likely risen given their increasing accessibility.  Spain 
is engaged in the Europe-wide Road Safety Action Plan for 
2011-2020 and intends to include driver distraction as one of 
the priority areas for joint action during the decade.  End 
Summary. 
 
¶2. Econoff delivered reftel demarche to Ramon Ledesma, Deputy 
Director General for Regulatory Planning for the Traffic 
Directorate General, Ministry of the Interior, and Susana 
Estevez, Chief of Staff for the Traffic Directorate General, 
on February 3.  Ledesma said that in 2005 Spain enacted Law 
17/2005 to increase penalties for driving under the influence 
of alcohol, driving without a safety belt, driving too fast, 
driving a motorcycle without a helmet, or driving while using 
a mobile communication device Qsing hands to phone, text or 
manually input data into satellite navigation systems).  The 
law was a response to Spain having one of the poorer driving 
safety records in Europe:  128 deaths per million persons in 
2003 compared to an EU average of 103 deaths per million. 
 
¶3.  Law 17/2005, together with additional implementing 
legislation in 2007 and 2009, created a "point system" 
pursuant to which drivers all start with 12 points which they 
can lose based on serious driving infractions -- using a 
mobile communication device loses 3 points and leads to a 
200-euro fine for example --  until they reach zero points, 
at which time they lose their license (points can be added 
back through successfully completing classes).  Ledesma 
described Law 17/2005 as a great success which reduced 
Spanish traffic fatalities by 45 percent by 2008 (ref B). 
Ledesma said that public outreach was a critical component of 
the law's success: the government used television, press, 
radio, and the internet to conduct public awareness campaigns 
on the law and the consequences of non-compliance. 
 
¶4.  Still, Ledesma admitted that while Law 17/2005 had 
reduced the number of fatalities (and traffic accidents 
generally), the percentage of accidents based on distracted 
driving had risen.  He pointed to a 2008 study that showed 
that the percentage of accidents in Spain related to 
distracted driving had risen from 30 percent in 1998 to 35 
percent in 2006.  Ledesma said the percentage of accidents 
linked to distracted driving had likely increased even more 
noting that a recent study showed that between 2007-2008 the 
number of tickets given for cell phone use when driving rose 
30 percent.  He blamed the increase on the greater 
accessibility of cell phones and other mobile communication 
devices.  Ledesma said that while the law might expand to 
include the use of TV screens (by drivers), it was unlikely 
to include non-electronic distractions such as smoking. 
 
¶5.  Estevez said that Spain was engaged in the Europe-wide 
Road Safety Action Plan for 2011-2020 that is being done 
under the auspices of Transport Commissioner Antonio Tajani. 
She added that Spain intended to include driver distraction 
as one of the priority areas for joint action during the 
decade. 
 
SOLOMONT