SPAIN’S road network recorded its second-lowest number of July deaths since records began, according to the latest figures from Spanish traffic authority DGT.
A total of 97 fatal accidents were recorded on Spanish roads last month, claiming 107 lives.
That puts July 2026 level with July 2014 as the second-safest July on record, behind only July 2021 — a pandemic-shadowed year when just 99 people died, with 6.3 million fewer long-distance journeys on the road to begin with.
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Conventional roads remain by far the most dangerous, accounting for close to seven in every ten deaths this July.
But motorways and dual carriageways bucked the overall downward trend, recording 13 more deaths than in July 2025 — a detail that will catch the eye of expats and holidaymakers who rely on Spain’s toll roads and autovÃas, including the AP-7 corridor along the Costa del Sol.
Looking at who was most affected, the number of vulnerable road users killed fell by nine compared with the same month last year, driven largely by a sharp drop in motorcyclist deaths. Pedestrians and cyclists, though, didn’t share in the good news: their deaths were up by one and three respectively.
Front-side, rear and multiple-vehicle collisions rose sharply, up by 12 to reach 28 deaths, suggesting that while drivers are doing a better job of staying on the road, they’re not necessarily doing a better job of staying away from each other.
Failure to use safety equipment continued to cost lives. Eight car drivers, two van drivers and one lorry driver were not wearing a seatbelt when they were killed, while two cyclists were not wearing a helmet — small, avoidable details behind some very final statistics.
Regionally, Castilla y León recorded the highest number of road deaths of any Spanish region this July, with 18 fatalities, and also saw the biggest increase compared with the same month last year. Madrid and Murcia also saw notable rises.
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By contrast, AndalucÃa saw one of the largest falls of any region, down from 24 deaths in July 2025 to 16 this year — a trend that will offer some reassurance to the large British and international community living along the Costa del Sol and other parts of the region.
The Balearic Islands, popular with British holidaymakers and second-home owners, saw fatalities triple, rising from two deaths to six, while the Canary Islands moved the other way, down from five to two.
So far this year, 611 people have died on Spain’s roads — 36 fewer than over the same period last year, continuing a broader downward trend even as traffic volumes climb.
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