The City Council of Sant Josep has installed new signage in the streets Cala de Bou and Es Caló in order to reinforce road safety and remind drivers of the slow traffic lanes.
Although the legal speed limit in the area is 30 kilometers per hour, the municipality has chosen to set it symbolically at 29 km/h as a visual impact measure to draw the attention of drivers and encourage effective compliance with the regulations.
This action, as reported by the Consistory, seeks to increase road awareness and improve safety in a stretch that has been the scene of serious traffic incidents in recent months. The signs will remain installed until the end of the year, although future complementary actions along the same lines are not ruled out.
Two fatal accidents
The intervention takes place in one of the most accident-prone areas of the bay of Portmany, where there have been two fatal accidents in 2025 alone.
This is a road with narrow sidewalks, no physical barriers between pedestrians and vehicles, and where speed limits are frequently violated.
The first accident occurred on Sunday, May 18, when a 62-year-old tourist from Torrevieja was hit by a Dacia Dokker van while walking in the early morning.
The driver, a 30-year-old man of Peruvian nationality, was four times the legal alcohol limit and, according to official sources, fell asleep at the wheel. The vehicle hit signs and street furniture before ramming the pedestrian, who was trapped under the underbody of the van.
The SAMU 061 emergency services could only certify his death. The driver was arrested after the incident.
The second fatal hit-and-run occurred on September 7, when a Jeep Wrangler SUV, driven by an Irish citizen under the influence of nitrous oxide, left the roadway, drove onto the sidewalk and rammed into a group of pedestrians.
In the impact, one young woman died and two others were injured of varying degrees. The driver was arrested by the local police and charged with gross negligence manslaughter, serious injury and driving under the influence of drugs.
The presence of numerous witnesses and the cooperation of the public were key to identifying the perpetrator and reconstructing what happened.
