You’ll recall that two days ago the Spanish government identified ‘Driver distraction’ as one of the main causes of the country’s high road accident statistics. Yesterday they announced a new measure aimed at reducing the daily toll - large electronic signs at the side of the road for drivers to peruse as they pass. These will say things like:-

 

ALCOHOL + DRIVING = DEATH

 

And,

 

35 PEOPLE ALREADY KILLED ON THE ROADS THIS WEEKEND. OOPS, 36.

 

Sky News told us last night that 87 per cent of Brits think the streets are less safe this year than last. They’re probably most frightened by the sight of police men and women dressed as characters from a Sci-Fi film. There’s only one thing more frightening than seeing police like this on our street – never seeing any police at all in your ‘Crimewatch’ neighbourhood.

 

Talking of cars - as of this week, it’s illegal here to have children under 3 in them unless they are in a special seat. The fines are heavy. That should do the trick. Meanwhile, though, I shall count the number of seat-less toddlers over the next week, just to assure myself that this is not just another rule for the Spanish to treat with consummate disdain.

 

Dogs in Spain – or Galicia at least – are often very small and extremely ugly, more like overgrown rats than descendants of the wolf. I saw two such males squaring up to each other in the street last night, shoulder to shoulder, teeth barred and muscles straining. They looked like a couple of angry hamsters on steroids.