As of October 30, 2022, 948 deaths have been registered compared to 907 in 2019Behind the increase in victims and accidents, experts point to an increase in the consumption of drugs for anxiety or depressionAfter confinement and restrictions on mobility, displacement has increased by road with older and worse-maintained cars Some figures that exceed the victims of 2019 by more than 4%, the last one before the pandemic, when there were 907 deaths in traffic accidents. Behind this increase, experts from the Institute of Traffic and Road Safety (INTRAS) of the University of Valencia point to different causes. “After the pandemic we have hit the road and we have forgotten the risk that driving entails,” explains Francisco Alonso, director of INTRAS. There has also been an increase in the number of accidents, which have gone from 907 in 2019 to 948 in 2022 in the same period. Increased consumption of pharmaceuticals and drugs Scientific research from the World Health Organization (WHO) indicates that the global prevalence of anxiety and depression increased by 25% after the Covid-19 pandemic. In said report , it is recorded that in 2021 the daily consumption of anxiolytics and hypnotics per 1,000 inhabitants exceeded 93 million daily doses (almost 59 million of the former and 34 million of the latter), that is: 2.4 million more than in 2020 and Just over 6 million more than in 2019. Traffic accident in Novelda (Alicante) Alicante Provincial Firefighters Consortium Added to this is an increase in drug use and, ultimately, an increase in accidents according to experts. “After Covid, we slept but and took more drugs and drugs. These substances sometimes cause us to drive more altered and in others, they generate drowsiness. In both cases this affects our abilities when getting behind the wheel and reduces our level of care,” says Alonso. The accidents where more victims occur are road exits and head-on collisions. “In the first case, it has a lot to do with distractions and in the second, aggressive driving, which makes us overtake more risky on two-way roads,” explains the director of INTRAS. More trips, worse carsAfter lockdowns and mobility restrictions, the return to normality in 2022 has increased the number of trips by road, despite the economic crisis associated with the increase in the CPI and the energy crisis. “We have hit the road to enjoy our free time and traffic has increased and, therefore, accidents,” says Alonso. This summer alone, 93.4 million trips have been made on Spanish roads, 2.42% more than in the summer of 2019. An increase that coincides with the aging of the car park. “We have had the car stopped for a long time and now we are using it again with more years and poorer maintenance,” says Alonso. A situation that occurs in an economic context of crisis, in which many Spanish families cannot afford expensive vehicle repairs, periodic maintenance or tire changes. “It is estimated that 40% of passenger cars circulate without passing the last ITV. In addition, road maintenance has worsened in recent years,” explains the expert.