So far this year, 29 people have lost their lives on the roads in the Balearics, three fewer than for the whole of 2022.
Up to August 3 last year, there were 16 fatalities; the number has therefore almost doubled over the same period of 2023. Fifteen of the sixteen were in June and July - six and nine, respectively - and the overwhelming majority of the fatalities have been in Mallorca. In July, for instance, only one of the nine deaths was on another island (Formentera).
The July figure is the worst since 2012, and there is concern as to what the rest of the summer may hold.
In seeking explanations for this rise in fatalities, factors mentioned include more hire cars on the roads and driving under the influence of drink and drugs. The latter has been true in some instances, but the former has not been.
The reality is that some of the deaths have been due to awful error or circumstances, such as the British driver in Alcudia who was momentarily confused, turned into the wrong (left) lane and collided head-on with a motorcyclist; or the taxi driver in Palma who ran over a woman who had fallen onto a pedestrian crossing; or the homeless man in Alcudia (who may have been drunk) who was weaving erratically on a bicycle and was hit by a bus and two cars on a dark road at night; or the truck driver who had got out of his cabin when the truck broke down on the hard shoulder of the Via Cintura in Palma and was hit by a car being driven by a woman on her way to work.
The traffic directorate points out that twelve of the fatalities haven't involved another vehicle. Fifteen have been riders of motorcycles or mopeds, five have been pedestrians, and four have been cyclists.
Whatever the reasons for the sudden increase, the directorate admits that the figures so far this year are "discouraging".