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DRIVING

Driving in Spain: 16 things that could land you in trouble with the law this summer

Apart from the usual driving offences that exist in countries around the world, Spain has a whole host of punishable misdemeanours that can result in fines of €500 for drivers, many of which are particularly common during the summer months.

Driving in Spain: 16 things that could land you in trouble with the law this summer
There are lots of cars on the roads in Spain during summer, and plenty of traffic cops policing them.(Photo by GAIZKA IROZ / AFP)

Every day, Spain’s Directorate General of Traffic (DGT) hands out 10,000 fines to drivers in the country, mostly for the same punishable offences that exist in other countries: speeding, not wearing a seatbelt, talking on the phone whilst driving etc

But there are also plenty of other driving errors that aren’t strictly illegal but could result in a fine if you are caught by a Spanish Guardia Civil traffic unit.

The following infractions are not expressly forbidden by law but fall under Articles 17 and 18 of Spain’s Driving Code, which states that the driver must be in control of the vehicle and all those within it at all times.

“The driver of a vehicle is obliged to maintain freedom of movement, clear field of vision and full attention, to guarantee the driver’s own safety plus that of the occupants in the car and other road users”.

Here’s a list of the actions that are dependent on the officer’s discretion as to whether in doing them, the driver is posing a danger to himself and others on the road.

Wearing flip-flops

Driving while wearing flip-flops is considered ill-advised when in Spain, as they could get stuck under the pedal and therefore cause you to lose concentration or even provoke the direct loss of control of the vehicle.

If a Spanish traffic cop considers that you’re not wearing the right kind of summer footwear (loose and not tightly fitted to your feet), you could be fined up to €200 and lose 2 points on your licence. The same applies if you are barefoot or wearing other unsuitable footwear such as stilettos.

Putting on make-up or shaving

Not surprisingly, if you are caught shaving at the wheel or attempting to apply mascara, or any kind of make-up while driving, then expect a fine and 2 points docked from your licence.

No shaving at the wheel. Photo: Asim Bharwani/Flickr

Playing loud music

Driving with the volume up so high that you might not be aware of sirens could also earn you a fine, going from €100 up to €3,000 depending on the municipality and how much noise pollution you were causing. It’s also a big no-no to drive with music blasting out when in an urban area or close to a hospital.

Eating, drinking or lighting a cigarette

Eating behind the wheel, and even drinking from a bottle of water could result a penalty if a traffic officer catches you and considers that you are risking distraction. You could be fined €200 and lose 2 points off your licence. Likewise lighting or ashing a cigarette can be considered a distraction and is subject to a penalty, even though smoking while driving is allowed.

Tossing a cigarette butt out a vehicle’s window however is illegal, punishable with a minimum €500 fine and the loss of 6 points off one’s driver’s license.


Photo by Gil Ribeiro on Unsplash

 

Hanging your arm or elbow out of the window

Driving with your arm hanging out of the window, gesticulating out the window without cause or even sticking your elbow out could result in a fine of up to €80.

Not wearing enough clothes

Driving without a shirt on could also result in a fine of €200, but ultimately it’s up to the traffic cop to decide. This is covered in Article Three of Spain’s Driving Code, as in the case of an accident, an injury could be sustained by the driver or passengers if their bare skin comes into contact with the airbag or seat belt, for example.

Using a sat-nav or mobile GPS while driving

Having a sat-nav attached to the interior of your windscreen could be considered a distraction if it affects visibility of the road ahead. So to is fiddling around with it while driving the car. 

It is legal to use wireless or other approved devices if they don’t involve the use of hands or helmets or headphones.

MAP: The trick to find out where Spain’s invisible speed cameras are

Holding your phone while driving

Driving while holding your mobile phone in your hand – even if you’re not using it to talk, text or read – now results in the loss of six points from your driving licence in Spain and a €200 fine. Needless to say, actually using and being distracted by your phone while at the wheel is also a punishable offence.

READ MORE:

Overtaking bicycles and mopeds

It’s now mandatory to change lanes when overtaking cyclists or moped users on roads with more than one lane in each direction.

Endangering or hindering cyclists when overtaking or without leaving the mandatory minimum separation of 1.5 metres results in the loss of six points and a €200 fine. 

Arguing with a passenger

Anything that might be considered a distraction while at the wheel is subject to a penalty and that includes having an argument with a passenger. So no gesticulating wildly or shouting uncontrollably, and certainly no turning round to have a go at a passenger in the back seat as it could result in an €80 fine, or much worse still, an accident.

On the same note, other distractions such as kissing your co-passenger or biting your nails could result in a fine. 

Unjustified use of the horn

This might surprise regular drivers in Spain, but beeping the horn without good reason can apparently land you with a fine of €80. Justified use of the horn includes alerting someone to avoid an accident. It isn’t considered justified to beep at your neighbour to attract his attention so you can wave at him. Nor is it justified to sound the horn if the driver in front is taking his time pulling away on a green light.

Not storing your luggage and belongings properly

If you’re in a rush or overloaded, you may feel you don’t need to store all your belongings safely in the car boot before hitting the road. Depending on the risk posed due to lack of visibility or the nature of the objects on the seats or the rear deck, a traffic police officer can take up to four points off a driver’s licence and fine them €500.

Driving through a traffic light on amber

It seems like everyone in Spain does this, but the guidelines state that if you can come to a stop in time on an amber light without risking someone running into the back of you, then you should stop. Or face a €80 fine.

Wearing the wrong kind of hat

Hats or caps aren’t outright banned but if a hat comes too low over your eyes and is considered to be detrimental to the vision of the driver or covers the ears and could limit the ability to hear well, then the driver could be pulled over and fined.

Putting your feet on the dashboard

We trust that there isn’t a driver reckless enough to attempt to drive a car while putting his feet up, as in Spain a fine can be handed out even if the front seat passenger sits back with their feet on the dashboard.


Photo by Victoria Bilsborough on Unsplash

Behave yourself at filling stations

There also a list of no-nos when filling up your car at a petrol station, which includes smoking, talking on a mobile phone and leaving the lights or the radio on while filling up.

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DRIVING

How to change the registered address for your car if you move in Spain

If you move within Spain and change address, you'll also need to change the registered address for your car in order to pay vehicle tax. Here's how to do it.

How to change the registered address for your car if you move in Spain

When you buy a car in Spain the driving authority, the Dirección General de Tráfico (DGT), asks you to register your car so that you (and they) can have a reference of where it is, who owns it and, crucially, where you’ll pay tax on it.

This information is necessary because paying vehicle tax in Spain (known as Impuesto sobre Vehículos de Tracción Mecánica or IVTM) depends on where in the country you live, and differs slightly depending on the municipality where you are registered.

You pay the tax in the municipality in which the vehicle is registered, and though the exact amount depends on your area and the type of car you have, generally speaking the annual tax is between €112 and €300 for the year.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: What you need to know about road tax in Spain

IVTM is a tax you pay at the municipal level, that is, to your local town hall. According to the DGT, “the Traffic Tax of a vehicle is a mandatory tax that is applied on all motor vehicles, allowing them to circulate on public roads throughout the country”.

But what happens if you move?

Well, it depends. If you’re moving but staying within the same municipality, not much, but if you’re moving across the country to a new part of Spain, you’ll need to change your car’s registered address with the DGT.

How can you request a change of tax address for your car in Spain?

Any change of tax address must be requested by the owner of the vehicle or a duly authorised person on their behalf. There are four ways to request it:

Online – this is done through the DGT’s website, which you can find here. If it’s a general application, you shouldn’t need to attach any documentation. You can simply change the address of all your vehicles or select only those you wish to modify, choosing between the registration address or the tax address of the owner.

For vehicles moving from the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla to the Spanish mainland peninsula or the Balearic Islands, or agricultural vehicles or those with any type of legal limitations or restrictions, you must make the application through the special cases option (supuestos especiales on the DGT website).

In this case, you essentially need to get documentation proving that the car has been cleared through customs. If it is an agricultural vehicle, you will need to provide the document showing that you have reported the change in Spain’s Official Register of Agricultural Machinery (ROMA).

By phone –- call 060, which is the number in Spain to get through to the Servicio de Información de la Administración General del Estado, essentially the go-to contact number for all things public services and administration. You can contact the DGT through this number, where they will check that the address you indicate coincides with the one on the INE register and, if so, make the requested change for you.

READ ALSO: The tricks drivers use to pay less in car taxes in Spain

DGT App If you have the miDGT app, you can also change your address through the platform.

In person — you can also change your vehicle’s tax address at your town hall (ayuntamiento) where you are currently registered (pre-move) or at any DGT traffic office, though you will need to make an appointment online or by phone beforehand. You can do that here.

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