Conference in Almería on work-related road accidents within the Shock Plan of the Government of Andalusia
The Villaespesa library hosted the event, organized by the Center for the Prevention of Occupational Risks of Almería and which is part of the Shock Plan against occupational accidents in the region, promoted by the Government of Andalusia and the Andalusian Council for the Prevention of Occupational Risks. It has the collaboration of Fraternidad-Muprespa, as well as important entities involved in occupational road safety, such as the General Directorate of Traffic, AESLEME or Infova.
The objective of the conference was to “raise awareness among workers, technicians and companies about the measures applicable in road safety, present good practices and contribute to reducing the accident rates caused by traffic accidents in the workplace.”
Amós García, Territorial Delegate of Employment, Business and Self-Employment in Almería, inaugurated the day together with the provincial head of Traffic, José María Méndez, and the director of the Fraternidad-Muprespa delegation in Pulpí, Ángel Churches. García indicated that this type of accident “is the main cause of fatal accidents at work: they are behind 43% of them and 29% of serious accidents, the vast majority being in itinere”, according to data from the province corresponding to the last two years.
He also explained that the day is part of the Shock Plan against accidents in Andalusia, endowed with 2.2 million euros and the result of dialogue and agreement with Andalusian social and economic agents and alluded to "the consequences of not adopting preventive actions and attitudes while driving."
The provincial head of Traffic, José María Méndez, pointed out, for his part, that “road work safety is a priority for the General Directorate of Traffic” and applauded “the holding of conferences like this one that allow the tools available to the DGT to be presented to reduce accident figures.” He elaborated on “the importance of maintaining attention when driving, avoiding distractions, the main cause of fatal accidents in Spain since 2016.” “We have worked,” he added, “increasing in the latest reform of the Road Safety Law from 3 to 6 the points that are lost for manually using the mobile phone.”
Ángel Iglesias, director of the Fraternidad-Muprespa delegation in Pulpí, highlighted that according to data from its mutual companies in Almería "between 2021 and 2023, there were 898 road accidents that caused almost 42,000 days of sick leave, which, translated into an estimated cost for temporary disability, amounts to almost 1.7 million euros." To combat this scourge, he stressed the importance of events focused on reducing these figures, "such as the IX Prevention Week that Fraternidad-Muprespa celebrates these days, just like every year around April 28, and that through dozens of actions, highlights that reducing these numbers is desirable and possible."
Alfonso Gerez, prevention consultant at He also explained that the number of pedestrians who also suffer accidents from walking while answering their cell phone is increasing.
Next it was the turn of Juan Eulalio Martínez, coordinator of AESLEME in Almería and Murcia, who spoke about the importance of joining forces to reduce the number of victims of traffic accidents. The day closed Sergio Quesada, instructor from the Infova Automotion company, who focused on the role of driving training in preventing road work accidents.
