Thousands being caught without MOT or insurance

The Traffic department explained that it is extremely important to have regular MOT checks because mechanical failure is a repeated cause of accidents in the Balearic Islands. According to the department, this is especially true now that people are keeping their cars for much longer than prior to the onset of the economic crisis.

Three killers
The Balearic Islands is reportedly the same as the rest of the country where excess speed, distractions at the wheel and driving under the effects of alcohol are considered by experts as the “three main killers on the roads.” During the first eight months of this year, the Guardia Civil's Traffic department in the Balearics has fined more than 9'000 drivers for speeding.
However, comparing the Islands to the rest of the country, drivers do not break speed limits to the extent that they do in other parts of Spain.
Fines have been imposed on more than 5'000 people for not wearing seatbelts and thousands more for driving whilst speaking on a mobile.
The Traffic department is particularly concerned about how many people are ignoring advice not to drink and drive. A total of 3'144 people had sanctions imposed against them for exceeding the permitted alcohol limit whilst behind the wheel and in 373 cases, it was necessary to make arrests.

Despite the efforts of officers, there are a large number of collisions because of driver distraction, frequently through carelessness. A typical example is where drivers don't leave sufficient space between the front of their car and the back of the vehicle in front so that there is no time to stop in the event of having to brake suddenly.

Also there are “side-on” collisions at intersections when drivers fail to respect “right of way” signs.
On secondary roads around the islands, accidents happen where accesses to private property is direct from the main road. Drivers slowing down and turning left into a small lane with fast on-coming traffic from the the oppositie direction can be a danger.

Driving experts on Majorca claim that people driving on dual carriageways and motorways on the island have a very poor record of using the correct lane.

All too often, said one spokesman, drivers “sit” in the middle lane of motorways instead of moving in to the right hand side allowing faster traffic to pass on the left. Even worse, said a representative of a driving school in Palma, drivers on Majorca are happy to queue in the far left hand lane, forcing traffic to build up unnecessarily.

He added that too many people don't know how to use roundabouts properly.