Rush is never good, and even less so when it can have fatal consequences. Despite this, every day we see examples on the road similar to the one we bring today, where in a video We see a driver who was traveling at 168 km/h in a section with a limit reduced to 40 km/h due to works. The case, detected by a Pegasus helicopter of the Civil Guard, has been the most serious of a special surveillance campaign that has left more than 15,000 complaints in a single week.
What has happened? Just like they count From El Mundo, the General Directorate of Traffic deployed between June 22 and 28 an operation dedicated to the road sections affected by maintenance, conservation works or changes to the layout. During those seven days, the agents of the Traffic Group of the Civil Guard controlled 233,506 vehicles, of which 15,460 ended up being reported for breaking some rule in areas with works.
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The fact that attracts the most attention. The most extreme case involved a vehicle captured by a Pegasus helicopter traveling at 168 km/h at a point where the general speed was 90 km/h, but due to the presence of works it had a temporary limit of 40 km/h. That is, the driver was going more than four times faster than what was allowed on that specific stretch.
Danger behind the wheel. In these sections of works there may be workers working very close to the road, machinery entering and exiting, narrower lanes and temporary signage. Reducing the speed there serves precisely to have more room to react to any unforeseen event. It makes all the sense in the world, but still, it is quite common to see some drivers ignoring the signs.
The underlying problem. This example was the star violation of the entire campaign. According to data from the DGT collected According to El Mundo, around 90% of the complaints made during these seven days were related to not respecting the specific limits of the areas under construction. This connects with the accident figures that the organization manages. And provisionally, the DGT counted 154 accidents in maintenance and conservation sections during 2025, of which 26 affected operators who were outside their vehicles, on the road or its surroundings.
The majority of these accidents are accidents caused by drivers not involved in the work itself, and speed appears as the factor that most influences them.
It wasn’t all speed. The campaign also brought to light other types of risky behavior. 204 drivers were reported for not respecting the signs on sections under construction, 135 for using their cell phones while driving and 68 more for other types of distractions, such as wearing headphones. Added to this are 71 complaints for improper overtaking, 17 for incorrect lane changes, 13 for negligent driving and another 13 for reckless driving, according to collect the middle.
There was also no shortage of infractions related to basic safety elements, as there were 135 sanctions for not wearing a seat belt, 5 for not wearing a helmet and another 5 for not using child seats. The list is completed with 58 positive alcohol tests and 39 positive drug tests.
What is the DGT doing to avoid it. Beyond specific control campaigns, Traffic is also beginning to rely on new technology to reinforce safety on these stretches. For example, recently the first models of connected conesdevices capable of warning in real time of the presence of works so that the driver can anticipate and adapt their speed before reaching the conflict point.
The idea is that this type of devices (cones, V-16 beaconsinformation on screen on the roads) can offer centralized information through DGT 3.0a connected platform accessible by the organization itself, connected cars, manufacturers, navigators, assistance services and more. The objective is for this information to help prevent accidents or warn of sections under construction, traffic jams, vehicles on the road and so on.
Cover image | Jorge Franganillo
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