The year 2024 has brought good news in terms of the number of fatalities in traffic accidents in Ibiza and Formentera: there was a decrease in the number of fatalities, according to data from the National Road Safety Observatory of the Directorate General of Traffic (DGT).
However, in the Balearic Islands as a whole there has been an increase: from 39 fatalities in 2023, last year there were 42. In Ibiza there was a decrease of more than 50 percent: last year there were 5 fatalities, 6 less than in 2023. Something similar happened in Formentera, where there was only one fatality, two less than in 2023. While in Mallorca there was also a drop (there were 24 fatalities, 2 less than in 2023), in Menorca there was a striking increase. In 2023 there was only one person killed in traffic accidents, whereas last year there were 12. The first occurred in August with two fatalities in the same accident, and the other in November in Mahón, in which two people died in a single accident. November in Mahón, in which 6 people died, 4 of them minors.
The data
Fifteen of the 42 fatalities in traffic accidents on Balearic roads in 2024 were motorcyclists, 36% of the victims, compared to 41% the previous year. Thirty-three percent of those killed were drivers of cars or SUVs, 17% were passengers, 7% were cyclists and another 7% were pedestrians, according to data from the National Road Safety Observatory of the Directorate General of Traffic (DGT). Of those who died in traffic accidents in the Balearic Islands last year, 33 were men and 9 were women. Ten of the deceased were over 65 years of age. The roads of the Balearic Islands recorded 36 accidents with victims in 2024, two less than the previous year, in which 42 people died, 2% more (one more) than in 2023, and 13 were seriously injured (one more), according to the data referring to fatal accidents on interurban roads of the islands with fatalities during the 24 hours following the accident. There were 209 people hospitalized as a result of fatal accidents in 2024. The months with the highest accident rate were October and November, with 7 fatalities each month, and in April there were none. Regarding the type of road, in 2024 most of the fatalities occurred on secondary roads, with 30; and 6 of them on freeways or highways. By type of accident, there were 20 roadway exits, 12 head-on collisions, 5 lateral or front-lateral collisions, 3 pedestrian collisions, one rear-end and multiple collision and one other type of accident. According to the nationality and place of residence of the 49 drivers involved in fatal accidents in 2024, 78 % (38) had Spanish nationality and residence in Spain compared to 22 % (11) who did not. In 2023, the figures were 67 % (45) and 33 % (22).
