As a result of the new speed limits that came into action last May, the number of traffic offences has quadrupled in Marbella. The new speed limits were a reduction from 50 kilometres to 30 on urban roads with just one lane in each direction.
A report from Marbella’s Local Police unit operations has found the number of offences increased from 252 in 2020 to 1,157 in 2021. The report was presented on Tuesday and the chief of police explained most of the offences came about as a result of the change to speed limits.
It was from the end of May last year onwards that the biggest increase in speeding offences was found. Although the number of traffic accidents increased, none of these accidents were fatal. In saying that, there were 13 serious injuries and 372 minor ones.
The police team stressed the importance of driving safely on the road and the need to adhere to these new speed limits so as to keep yourself and everyone else safe. 20,764 fines were issued to people, 2,279 vehicles were seized and taken off the road and 258 people caught did not have a driving licence.
In addition, 175 of the vehicles were stolen and 187 were deregistered. A further 2,018 did not have insurance either. As a result of the increase in offences, a sub-inspector has been assigned to each district of Marbella.
They will have monthly meetings and community groups to learn about the problems in each specific area. The local police force will also increase with 11 officers having already joined and an additional 14 joining soon. They have estimated they will be hiring for 24 new positions in the near future.
