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Objectives. We assessed the effectiveness of the penalty points system (PPS) introduced in Spain in July 2006 in reducing traffic injuries. Methods. We performed an evaluation study with an interrupted time-series design. We stratified dependent variables-numbers of drivers involved in injury collisions and people injured in traffic collisions in Spain from 2000 to 2007 (police data)-by age, injury severity, type of road user, road type, and time of collision, and analyzed variables separately by gender. The explanatory variable (the PPS) compared the postintervention period (July 2006 to December 2007) with the preintervention period (January 2000 to June 2006). We used quasi- Poisson regression, controlling for time trend and seasonality. Results. Among men, we observed a significant risk reduction in the postintervention period for seriously injured drivers (relative risk [RR]=0.89) and seriously injured people (RR=0.89). The RRs among women were 0.91 (P=.095) and 0.88 (P

Background: This paper aims at assessing the effectiveness of the package of road safety measures implemented after road safety was included in the political agenda in the year 2004 on the number of road traffic-injured people in Spain. Methods: An evaluation study was performed using an interrupted time-series design. The study population was people injured in road traffic crashes in Spain between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2006. The road traffic crashes database of the General Directorate for Traffic was used. The dependent variable was the monthly number of people injured, stratified by sex, age, severity and type of road user. The explanatory variable (intervention) compared the post-intervention period (2004-6) with the pre-intervention period (2000-3). Quasi-Poisson regression models were adjusted, controlling for time trend and for seasonality. Results: Results show a reduction in the risk of being injured for both men (RR 0.91; 95% CI 0.87 to 0.95) and women (RR 0.89; 95% CI 0.85 to 0.94). Risk reductions were observed across all age groups and all road users, except for pedestrians. Conclusions: The present study suggests that prioritising road safety reduces the number of people injured in road traffic collisions., his work was supported by the Agencia Española de Tecnologías Sanitarias (Plan Nacional de Investigación Científica, Desarrollo e Innovación Tecnológica (I+D+I) e Instituto de Salud Carlos III-Subdirección General de Evaluación y Fomento de la Investigación) (PI07/90157). The funding source has not had any involvement in the study design, in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data, in the writing of the report and in the decision to submit the paper for publication.

This report details road accident trends in Spain. According to the report, the number of injury accidents has risen from 79,925 in 1993 to 98,433 in 2002. A number of factors contributed to this rise. For instance, the low 1993 figure is due in part to the introduction in the early 1990s of several safety campaigns. Furthermore, there was a rise in the total number of vehicles during this time, including the number of private cars, motorcycles and industrial vehicles. Changes in population and shifts in vehicular flows must also be taken into account.