The report, which analyses more than 200 000 traffic accidents on the state network between 1997 and 2001, reveals that on the conventional roads in the Spanish road network there are�1 868km (12% of these roads) which have not seen an accident with fatalities in a period of at least five years. The analysis of this data has meant�that the people in charge of the study now describe these sections of highway as �White Spots�. Their�technical features have meant�around 120 deaths a year in accidents have been avoided.
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�One of these technical features is good visibility, and a layout that is perfectly predictable and which are adapted to the local geography. Their�length is�25 kilometres and they�have not�seen a fatal accident for five or more consecutive years, Their�study is fundamental to understand, by extrapolating conclusions, how infrastructure can influence accidents or a lack of them.
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Normally, these �White Spots� are found on conventional roads with a lane width of 3.5 metres with traffic in both directions - sometimes there is an additional lane for slow vehicles - and a hard shoulder of 1.5m to 2m in most cases, top speeds are limited to 90kph or 100kph. The typical layout is characterized by a lack of unforseeable changes to the camber and tight curves that can hide the next section and if there are some they�are always correctly indicated. |