If you are planning on driving in Spain or the Balearics this year, especially if getting behind the wheel of a hire car which according to many people are the main cause of Mallorca’s traffic congestion, beware. It appears that 74% of drivers “change” behind the wheel and routinely insult other road users, according to a study by the Línea Directa Foundation, which on Tuesday presented the initiative “Sustainable driver: a new way of driving”.
According to the survey of 1,700 drivers, more than 7 million drivers overtake aggressively to intimidate others, 33% habitually fail to observe speed limits and around 23 million lack a strong environmental awareness. “Only 6% of drivers can be considered fully sustainable,” conclude the study’s authors.
The director general of the Línea Directa Foundation, Mar Garre, stated that “being a sustainable driver means understanding” that decisions behind the wheel “affect how we coexist with others, safety and the planet”.
‘That is why, at the Línea Directa Foundation, we advocate for respectful, calmer and more mindful driving, where the rules, other road users and the environment are respected, in order to achieve our shared goal of zero road traffic fatalities,’ she said.
Regarding relations with other road users, the report shows that some drivers overtake “by any means necessary” (11%) or insult other motorists (74%). Furthermore, 29% of drivers admit to using their horn repeatedly as a form of complaint, and 3.7 million acknowledge having challenged other motorists to get out of their cars.
According to the analysis by the Línea Directa Foundation, stress, the behaviour of other drivers, traffic jams, a sense of anonymity and selfishness are the main reasons drivers give for behaving in an uncivil manner whilst driving. On the other hand, 14% of drivers surveyed admit to drinking before driving; 33% admit that they habitually fail to observe speed limits, the same percentage as those who do not maintain a safe distance from the vehicle in front.
Data from the Fundación Línea Directa reveals that almost 23 million drivers lack environmental awareness on the road, regardless of the type of engine in their cars, and 67% of drivers do not take environmental criteria into account when driving. 76% of drivers do not inform themselves about the environmental impact of the spare parts used in their car or motorbike, ruling out the use of green spare parts and the promotion of the circular economy.
6.1% of Spanish drivers are fully sustainable, although there are considerable regional differences: drivers in Asturias, the Basque Country and Catalonia have proved to be the most sustainable, with percentages significantly higher than the national average, whilst at the other end of the scale are the Balearics, La Rioja and Extremadura. Finally, as part of the initiative, the Línea Directa Foundation has produced a digital manifesto and a quiz on its website so that drivers can assess themselves and raise their awareness.