Palma.Seventeen people died in road accidents in built-up areas of the Balearics last year, 32 percent less than the number who died in the same circumstances in 2010, the regional Public Administration minister, Simon Gomes, reported yesterday.
Gornes was making an annual presentation of services rendered by the Local Police around the Balearics. Details included confirmation that over the last four years, deaths registered on town-based roads in the Islands have fallen by 51.42 percent. Gornes said that the work of the Local Police in controlling and restricting driver conduct, and keeping roads safe, has played no small part in this major downturn.
Public service
Gornes paid tribute to the services of the Local Police who have a presence in 47 municipalities around the Balearic Islands. There are a further 20 with auxiliary police units.
Around the Balearics there are 2'643 Local Police officers which averages out at 2.37 per 1'000 head of population. The figure is above the 1.6 per 1'000 head of population recommended under current national legislation.
The minister also pointed in his presentation to how much more people in the Balearics were using the 112 Emergency Services to ask for police assistance. In 2011, 44.8% of all calls to the 112 Emergency desk were asking for police help compared to 38.8% in 2010.
Meanwhile Antoni Fiol, Director of the Balearic Public Safety Institute said yesterday that Local Police had taken legal action against road users for breaking highway code on 308'000 occasions. Most fines imposed were for parking (117'150) followed by speeding (131'107). Others were not using helmet whilst riding a motorcycle (17'696), not using a seat belt (2'951), and using a mobile whilst driving (4'732).