This week, nearly twenty agents from Alicante, Elche, Benidorm, Castellón, and Valencia have participated in a National Police course on motorcyclist safety specialisation.

The objective of the course developed in Alicante by the national police’s road training unit is to “ensure that all colleagues are safer and provide a more efficient service to the “citizenship,” according to officer Jose Manuel Paniagua, one of the four instructors from Madrid, Valencia, and Castellón who have taught the course.

The instructors have been instructing fifteen unit agents of prevention and reaction (UPR) on how to patrol more safely on their large-displacement motorcycles, which weigh between 160 and 200 kilogrammes each.

Paniagua has emphasised the importance of technical mastery of the vehicle in various scenarios, as well as visual planning and anticipation.

In order to achieve this, they have been conducting closed-circuit exercises on a track and on provincial roads with curved sections. Some of the exercises that are practiced in the course include emergency braking, changing direction and curve paths, getting on and off moving motorcycles and stops, and conducting low-level escorts while maintaining balance without putting your feet on the ground.

The instructor asserts that the course enables the participants to “improve the defects or vices they have when driving,” despite the fact that the majority of them are seasoned agents who provide service to the Alicante Motorcycle Groups and other cities in the province.

The course is derived from the English Driving Style, which has been embraced by numerous security forces and organisations worldwide. “It is a model that prioritises anticipation, security, and vehicle control, without compromising efficiency or reaction capacity,” explains Paniagua.

Instructors prioritise three fundamental aspects in their interactions with the agents: the agents’ feet and their position while driving, the use of brakes, and the gaze. The gaze is considered crucial for safety, as it provides the driver with anticipation.

Motorcycles enable the National Police to respond more promptly to emergencies; however, they also pose a greater risk to police officers. The objective of the course is to guarantee the safety of officers while they are serving and travelling. Consequently, the instructors emphasised to the police that they are unable to assist anyone if they do not arrive at the correct location.

The officer also concludes that the agents have been trained in the fundamental skills of stress management, decision-making under pressure, and reading the environment, which are necessary to intervene in actual scenarios without compromising the safety of oneself or others.

Auchan, a French retail chain that operates in Spain under the Alcampo brand, has announced its intention to close 25 stores throughout the country, which will result in the loss of 710 jobs.

According to reports, the decision is the consequence of evolving consumer preferences, which have led to an increasing preference for online purchases and smaller stores over traditional large-scale supermarkets.

The company is concentrating its strategy on the expansion of smaller store formats and the reinforcement of its digital retail channels in order to adjust to these changes.

The restrictions are scheduled to occur in 13 regions of Spain, including Madrid, Valencia, Galicia, Navarra, La Rioja, and Asturias.

Approximately 23,300 individuals are presently employed by Auchan in Spain. On May 8, labour unions were informed of the restructuring plan’s specifics during a meeting.

The organisation declared, “It is imperative to achieve sustainable growth and recover results in each and every shop during this transformation process.” This is the reason why Alcampo is implementing a staff modification plan, a decision that is both responsible and essential, despite its difficulty.

Auchan has not yet publicly identified the specific stores that are scheduled for closure, despite the fact that the CCOO trade union in Spain has reported obtaining a list of affected outlets, which includes several of its hypermarkets.

CCOO commented on the circumstance, stating, “This is the entirety of the information that the company has furnished us with.” The subsequent phase of this procedure, which was initiated by Alcampo management, is the establishment of a collective dismissal negotiating committee.

Auchan is required to submit all pertinent documentation during the initial meeting in order for union representatives to evaluate and commence negotiations, according to the union.

The union concluded, “At CCOO, we will confront this challenging situation, which is novel to the company, with the explicit understanding that the primary goal is to preserve employment and, in the event that employees depart, to guarantee that they do so in the most favourable manner possible.”

In late 2018, Auchan made the decision to eliminate over 2,000 positions in France as part of a broader restructuring initiative designed to stimulate development. This announcement is a continuation of that decision.

The Emergency Information and Coordination Centre (CICU) has reported that a two-year-old girl passed away yesterday, Sunday May 11th, due to drowning in a private pool in the Alicante municipality of Finestrat.

Paramedics were dispatched to the site in a SAMU ambulance at approximately 12:40 p.m. after the call was received by the CICU.

Family members have initiated fundamental cardiopulmonary resuscitation procedures with the assistance of a CICU physician via telephone prior to their arrival.