Average Age Of The Spanish Car Fleet
According to statistics, the average age of the Spanish car fleet is 12 years old. This means that the cars that circulate the most are highly polluting and do not allow compliance with international parameters. Some cities like Madrid and Barcelona do not comply with environmental laws.
As we see in our day to day, old cars continue to have preponderance in the Spanish market. According to official figures, some 130,000 over 20 years old are still traded in one way or another in the country.
And the future projections are worse. According to Anfac, if corrections are not carried out to renew the car park, by 2026 more than four million 20 years old will circulate. Some cities are already proposing legislation to deal with this national problem.
What is the problem with old vehicles?
The main issue is the expulsion of polluting substances: carbon oxide, nitrogen and lead compounds, among other very toxic products for the environment.
European legislation requires Spain to have environmental goals and municipalities cannot comply. Today it is known that 80% of pollution is generated by cars.
Another problem with old vehicles is the lack of safety guarantees. The older a model is, the less evolved its security devices and systems are. Both the driver and the rest of the occupants are at risk during the journey.
On the contrary, the updating of the automobile fleet will bring further development in terms of infrastructure. For example, if the purchase of electric cars were to increase, there would surely be more projects for charging stations.
The plans that exist to generate change
Currently there are some policies in place, although perhaps with insufficient results. For example, the PIVE Plan provided aid for the retirement of old cars and the purchase of more recent models. € 1,115 million have been delivered, but many old vehicles are still on the road.
In the political spheres, there is also talk of the Strategic Road Safety Plan; This measure would regulate the entry into the country of autonomous and connected vehicles. Rather, the main objective of this policy would be to reduce traffic accidents.
Another issue is that of fuel replacement; There are already many cities that plan to prohibit the circulation of Diesel cars within their jurisdictions. There are even vehicle brands, such as Toyota, that plan to eliminate their diesel models in the short term.
Restrictions for vintage cars in cities
In Madrid, the restrictions for old vehicles will be partial and will be carried out little by little. Diesel cars prior to 2006 are expected not to be able to circulate in the central area.
This same rule will apply to gasoline vehicles that are prior to the year 2000; Added to this, the models that do not have the green certification will not be able to park in this area from 2025.
In Barcelona the measures are similar, but they will arrive sooner. As of 2018, diesel cars manufactured before 1996 will not be able to circulate throughout the city. The Euro 2 phase will enter into force around 2019 and thus more models will be gradually included.
In the Balearic Islands, gasoline and diesel cars will not be marketed as of 2025. This is perhaps the most radical measure taken in Spanish territory, although there is still a long way to go to see its fulfillment. Tourists from other countries will not be able to drive cars with fossil combustion engines either.
Old car park and the risk of a traffic accident
The chances of losing your life in an accident are doubled if we drive a car that is more than 15 years old. This is the result of a study carried out by the Fundación Línea Directa y Fesvial, in 2015.
At that time, Spanish cars had an average age of 11.5 years. It is probable that the increase in this figure has part of the responsibility in the statistics of accidents within the country; Realmante the abundance of old vehicles becomes a public health problem.
