Interview to Jacobo Díaz Pineda, general director of the Spanish Association of the Road (AEC)

The network of autovías and motorways of our country has happened in hardly 30 years of a situation deficitaria to have more than 15.000 kilometres of roads of big capacity and “to the height of the best of Europe”. However, for Jacobo Díaz Pineda, general director of the Spanish Association of the Road (AEC), the state of conservation of these roads and of the secondary leaves a lot that wish. “Our country will not reach in 2014 the minimum threshold of investment in road conservation considered by the main international organisms”, affirms.

The last visual inspection of roads realizar by the AEC to evaluate the state of conservation of our roads, presented in 2012, is clear in this sense. The Spanish roads suffer from of a deficit in conservation of 5.500 million euros, situating in his worst position from the decade of 1980.

To day of today, with the General Budgets of the State of 2014 recently presented, fear us that the situation can not improve, since the destined game to roads reduces in more than 800 millions (-27%), and raisin to represent 24% of the total investment of the Group Boost, an inferior figure to 30% of the present year, very insufficient in this sense.

Deepens , then , in the inequality since it invests less. Besides, the corresponding percentage to the road infrastructures also does smaller, in favour always of the train of high speed. Although it is true that the global investment in railway industrys also reduces , happening of 4.705 millions to 4.573 (-2,8%), the percentage that this way represents in the group of the accounts of the Group Boost grow of 47% of the present year to 51% of 2014.

Fear, once again, that our country will not reach the minimum threshold of investment in road conservation considered by the main international organisms, that is not another that the one who apply the countries of our more engaged surroundings with his road sector. we are referring Us To 2% of the value patrimonial of the road network like annual minimum investment in conservation of roads to keep our network in some optimum conditions of of service. In absolute figures, treats of some 1.700 million euros to the year for the network of the State.

In these moments, the technicians that more stand out are those that allow to lengthen the useful life of the pavings, a very interesting factor for the agents of roads in the current circumstances. Also they are very valued the technologies of pavings that incentivan the use of materials of waste like the tyres out of use (NFU) or the waste of construction and demolition (RCD). In definite, all those procedures that improve the quality of service of the roads and require investments adjusted.

The figures of hygiene vial of our country in the last decade ascertain that the evolution in this sense has been abysmal. In the last years, have been able to reduce more than the half the figures of death by accident of traffic in our roads, situating us in group of head of the European countries more engaged in this matter.

All this has been possible thanks to the sum of several factors of diverse type, like the introduction of the permission to drive by points, the legislative changes, the increase of the surveillance of the roads and the improvement of the active and passive hygiene of the vehicles. However, it is necessary to go further to explain these so significant changes.

Here is where go in at stake the road infrastructures like factor of improvement ineludible in the statistics of hygiene vial. The advances in the network of autovías and motorways have been excellent, happening in few years of the situation deficitaria of the first years of 1980 to the current moments, with a network of something more than 15.000 kilometres of roads of big capacity to the height of the best of Europe.

Is of justice recognise that no. The greater part concentrates in the secondary roads, that, on the other hand, suppose the elder splits also of our network of roads. The challenge in this terrain is to adapt and modernizar these more modest roads to increase his levels of hygiene and continue like this reducing year after years the statistics of death in accident of traffic.

In this sense, is of big utility move to these roads the European philosophy of the ‘forgiving roads' or ‘roads clementes', of such way that are able to design and put in service roads that minimise to the maximum the errors that can commit the users. Of this form, will be betting by some roads that facilitate to the maximum the driving and, therefore, reduce the probabilities to commit errors and suffer accidents.

To beginnings of the past decade, the mandate of the European Commission was clear: before 2010 it was urgent to reduce to 50% the deaths by accident of traffic. In Spain took a series of decisions and, in accordance with the statistics of the General Steering of Traffic (DGT), the aim has fulfilled with grow. It is more, to day of today continue reducing year after year the figures of siniestralidad to a rhythm sustained of around 10%. To day of today, Spain can boast to be to the height of the countries that better behaviour have had in this terrain.

By his own nature, always will exist Stretches of Concentration of Accidents (TCA), that is to say, stretches whose accidentalidad situates above the average. Anyway, in the last years comes observing that the gravity of the accidents registered in these points is inferior, which is a good news of face to the general improvement of the statistics of siniestralidad. The true challenge in this sense is to identify and solve the problems of hygiene vial that do not locate in the TCA but in the other points that are disseminated by all the road network.

Before it entered in Spain, the permission to drive by points already had showed his good credenciales in other countries of our surroundings. Thus, in his day, in 2006 specifically, the authorities decided that it was the suitable moment to step more in the fight against the accidents of traffic. With the perspective that give the years, can affirm that it was a correct decision since, between other questions, the permission to drive by points has involved even more to the drivers in the world of the hygiene vial. Nowadays it is an element deeply internalizado by the citizen and an example of success exportable to the world.

Is evident that the awareness of the citizen to this respecto has evolved very positively in the last years. The hygiene vial has happened to occupy a space in the public life Spaniard that is very different to the of does few years. This change has coincided, obviously, with the improvement of the statistics of hygiene vial. And in this have had a lot that see the factors mentioned previously (legislative changes, permission to drive by points, increase of surveillance in road and improvements in infrastructures and vehicles). Justo is to recognise that to this education has contributed the remarkable increase of the control and fiscalización by part of the Administrations.

The road sector is not extraneous to all what have relation with the improvement of the environingingment. Thus, it supports and it favours all the processes that direct in this steering. They are many the fronts from which works . Leaving to a side the world of the automotive sector, directly involved in the reduction of the broadcasts contaminantes, sectors like the one of the manufacture of firm work very hard to develop technical the less aggressive possible with the environingingment. I am referring Me To processes like the recycled of firm or the manufacture of bituminous mixes in cold or temperate.

But the true favour that can do the sector for limiting the broadcasts consists in minimising the apparition and recurrencia of the jams, mainly in urban surroundings. This has to be the way to be followed from now on and the crisis, by a lot of financial and budgetary difficulties that comport, can not be the excuse so that the road sector neglect his commitments with the respect to the environingingment.