Tomorrow, Tuesday 30 April at 15:00 hours, the special traffic regulations that the Directorate General of Traffic is putting in place for the 1 May long weekend, which will last until midnight on Sunday 5 May, will begin.

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8.4 million journeys expected to take place over the May Day bank holiday weekend

The operation will be especially intense throughout the Central Zone as Wednesday 1 and Thursday 2 will be public holidays in the Community of Madrid and Friday 3 will not be a school holiday.

A total of 8,400,000 road journeys are expected to be made on these days. 000 road journeys are expected to be made, Traffic has the full availability of both human resources (agents from the Traffic Grouping of the Civil Guard, civil servants from the Traffic Management Centres, helicopter patrols and personnel in charge of equipment maintenance and the installation of roadside measures) and technical resources (fixed and mobile speed cameras, as well as helicopters, drones, cameras and camouflaged vans to control the use of mobile phones and seat belts) available to the DGT.

These resources will be used to implement a series of traffic regulation, organisation and surveillance measures to cover the significant movement of vehicles that will take place during these days, including both long and short-distance journeys, the main destinations of which will be coastal and coastal tourist areas (principally the coast).

To facilitate traffic flow in the most conflictive areas on each of these days, the DGT has planned, among other measures, the installation of reversible lanes and additional lanes with cones at peak traffic times, which increase the capacity of the road, distribute traffic and relieve congestion, or the establishment of alternative routes to avoid driving through the centre of the peninsula, which will be the area with the most traffic during this period and which can be used both by drivers travelling in the direction of the highest traffic demand and by those travelling in the opposite direction who may be ‘penalised’ by any of the regulatory measures established.

In addition, road works will be halted, both to avoid the congestion that can be caused by reducing the number of lanes available, and to improve road safety for drivers and operators; the holding of sporting events and other events involving the occupation of the road will be limited, and the circulation of lorries in general and those transporting certain goods will be restricted on certain stretches, dates and at certain times.

All these measures, in addition to the special measures by the Autonomous Community, can be consulted on the DGT website.

Traffic forecasts
Traffic forecasts drawn up by the Traffic Department indicate that in the early afternoon of Tuesday 30 May, there will be heavy traffic outbound from the major urban centres, with high traffic volumes, especially between 16:00 and 23:00.

On Wednesday 1 May there will continue to be heavy outbound traffic on the accesses to the Community of Madrid with high traffic volumes and traffic jams, especially between 09:00 and 14:00. In addition to these long-distance movements, there will be short-distance local movements as it is a national public holiday, on access roads to the coast and mountains, as well as to leisure destinations close to urban centres, with the return of this public holiday period on 1 May occurring in the late afternoon in all Autonomous Communities except the Community of Madrid.

On Thursday 2 May, the usual movements in and out of major urban centres will take place as it is a working day in all the Autonomous Communities, except in the Community of Madrid, which is celebrating its regional holiday on this day. For this reason, on the roads of Madrid and its area of influence, there will be short journeys to recreational and leisure areas close to the urban centres of this Community, returning late in the afternoon (especially between 19:00 and 21:00).

On Friday 3 May there will be the usual movements in and out of the major urban centres as it is a working day and, in the evening, especially between 19:00 and 21:00, there will be outbound movements towards the coastal areas and second homes due to the start of the weekend.

On Saturday 4, in the morning, traffic problems may occur in the places of destination, due to local short-distance movements, especially on the accesses to coastal towns and coastal roads.

In the early afternoon of Sunday 5, the return of this special traffic operation will begin, both for those who enjoyed the entire festive period and for those who took advantage of the weekend, with traffic problems (especially between 13:00 and 23:00) on the main communication routes that channel all the return movement, particularly on the general interest network, motorways and dual carriageways, and in the afternoon and evening, these problems will be transferred to the accesses to the large urban centres. For this reason, during the afternoon and evening, planning and regulation measures will be put in place in the regions of Andalusia, Valencia, Castile-La Mancha, Extremadura, Madrid and Murcia to facilitate the entry of vehicles into the cities.

A call for caution
For everyone to enjoy these days of well-deserved rest, it is important to remember, once again, that on the road we must all be responsible in complying with the rules.

Just three days ago, the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, presented at the DGT headquarters a crash plan aimed at halting the increase in road accidents recorded in the first quarter of this year, in which 261 people died on interurban roads, 36 more than in the same period last year, an increase of 16% compared to the same period last year.

At the wheel or on a motorbike, zero distractions, zero alcohol and drugs, respect the speeds established for each type of road and use the obligatory protection systems in each case so that we do not have to regret any lives lost during these festive days.

Before starting the journey, the DGT recommends getting the vehicle ready, checking the weather forecast with the State Meteorological Agency and, of course, planning the journey along the safest route to avoid unforeseen events.

The DGT’s Twitter accounts @informacionDGT and @DGTes or the radio and television news bulletins, as well as the 011 telephone number, provide information on the traffic situation in real-time and any incidents that may occur.