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DRIVING

REMINDER: Why you now have to drive at 30km/h on most roads in Spain

On May 11th 2021, Spain’s new speed limits for urban roads come into effect across the whole country. Here’s what you need to remember to not get into trouble with Spanish traffic police. 

Published: 19 April 2021 17:38 CEST
Updated: 10 May 2021 14:43 CEST
REMINDER: Why you now have to drive at 30km/h on most roads in Spain
Photo: JEAN-PIERRE CLATOT/AFP

Spain’s new speed limits have been in the pipeline for over a year, they were approved by the Spanish Cabinet last November and now, within a matter of weeks, they will come into force across the entire territory. 

What are the new speed limits?

From May 11th 2021, roads in Spain with one lane in each direction will go from having a general speed limit of 50km/hour to a maximum of 30km/h. Single lane roads with one-way traffic where the pavement is raised above the road will also have a new speed limit of 30km/h.

On single one-way lanes and double lane roads with two-way traffic where the pavement and the road are at the same level, the speed limit will be reduced even further, down to 20km/h. 

Roads with two lanes or more of traffic in each direction (minimum four total) will keep the speed limit of 50km/h (except for vehicles carrying dangerous goods, for which the limit is 40km/h).

Spain’s Interior Minister Fernando Grande Marlaska stressed back in November that these new speed limits won’t apply to main roads in Spain’s big cities (for example, Madrid’s Paseo de la Castellana).

As a relevant sidenote, vehicles will also no longer be able to surpass the speed limit at all when overtaking on secondary roads in Spain, whereas before it was allowed by up to 20km/h when overtaking.

What roads will the new speed limits apply to?

It will apply tovías urbanas, which can be translated as urban roads in English, but really the terminology refers to “any roads that make up the internal communications network of a settlement, as long as they are not through roads (travesías) or are part of an arterial network”, according to Spain’s Directorate General of Traffic (DGT).

In essence, regardless of whether it’s a road inside a village in the countryside or a road inside a big city where the limit is currently 50km/h, the new speed limits apply. 

The vast majority of the approximately 165,600 kilometres of tarmac that form part of Spain’s road network are vías urbanas, whereas travesías such as motorways and dual carriageways make up roughly only 17,228km. 

So undoubtedly this is a decision which will have a considerable impact on daily driving for most conductores (drivers) in the country.

What are the penalties and fines for going over the new speed limits?

Failure by drivers to comply with the new speed limits on Spain’s urban roads will be considered a serious or very serious road offence by traffic authorities. 

Fines will range from €100 to €600 and the loss of up to six points of the driver’s license, depending on how fast they were going.

So for example, on a two-lane road with traffic in both directions where the maximum speed will be 30 km/h, the penalty for driving between 31 and 50 km/h will be €100.

Photo: Doris Metternich/Pixabay

If the driver exceeds the 50 km/h mark but doesn’t reach 60km/h, it will result in a €300 fine and the loss of two points off the driver’s licence. 

Driving between 61 and 70 km/h will cost the offender €400 and four points; and speeding at between 71 and 80 km /h will lead to a €500 fine and the loss of six points. 

Very serious speeding offenses are those that exceed the speed limit by more than 50 km/h, resulting in a €600 penalty and the loss of six points. 

Exceeding the speed limit in urban areas by 60 km/h is a crime against road safety included in article 379 of Spain’s Penal Code and punishable “with a prison sentence of three to six months, or community service for 30 to 90 days, and in all cases a ban from driving vehicles and mopeds for one to four years”. 

READ MORE:

Why is Spain lowering the speed limit on these roads?

Dropping the speed limit from 50km/ down to 30km/ reduces the chances of dying after being run over from 90 percent down to 10 percent, road accident studies have proven. 

That’s the chief reason why the DGT has been pushing for the new limit to be introduced.

“The real news is why have we taken so long to do this,” DGT head Pere Navarro told journalists recently, stressing that the goal is to reduce road deaths and serious injuries caused by traffic accidents by 50 percent with the new limits.

In fact, many provincial capitals across Spain have already rolled out their own legislation limiting the speed on urban roads to 30km/h rather than 50km/h given the long wait for this amendment of Spain’s Traffic Code by the national government.

The DGT deputy head has stated that “something must be done” to address the 69 percent accident rise caused by delivery vehicles in Spanish cities in recent years, with Covid lockdowns and restrictions only serving to increase the proliferation of these commercial activities. But the spike in accidents isn’t just caused by delivery vans.

“Moving around when there are scooters, bicycles, motorcycles and e-scooters – which are now all used as delivery vehicles – is not easy,” DGT deputy director Susana Gómez said in 2020.

“Addressing the issue of ‘last-mile logistics in Spanish cities is of the utmost interest to the DGT, as is finding a way of putting pedestrians first.”

As seen in the video above tweeted by the DGT, this priority for pedestrians is central to the new speed limits, as a reduction of traffic and the dangers that vehicles pose could mean more central roads in Spanish cities are pedestrianised.

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Member comments

  1. Is anyone in favor of this? Seems absurd to drop the limit by half or nearly half in zones that don’t carry increased risk.

  4. To drive at 30kph, my car doesn’t get out of third gear. Cars were not designed to drive at such low speeds and those people who live in towns would rarely be able to get into fourth gear.

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PROPERTY

BBQs, nudity and plants: What are the balcony rules in Spain?

Though many people hang laundry, plants, and flags from their balcony, in Spain the rules on what you can and can't do on 'el balcón' are not well-known.

Published: 8 May 2024 17:13 CEST
Updated: 11 May 2024 08:31 CEST
BBQs, nudity and plants: What are the balcony rules in Spain?

Imagine the scene: you’ve just bought or signed the lease on your dream apartment. It’s bright and airy, with plenty of space, and even has a nice-sized balcony to get some fresh air on. You can do whatever you want there, right? 

Not exactly. In Spain the rules on what you can and can’t do on a balcony (even if it’s private) depend on a few factors, namely the regional and local rules, as well as getting the approval of the building’s homeowner’s association – known in Spain as la comunidad.

Some of them might just surprise you.

READ ALSO: ‘La comunidad’: What property owners in Spain need to know about homeowners’ associations

There are four main things or activities on balconies that could potentially put you on the wrong side of the local rules and even get you fined: barbecues, plants, laundry, and flags.

In all cases (even if you don’t think you’re breaking any rules) you’ll generally need to consider two things: firstly, does this affect or change the building’s façade? And secondly: will la comunidad allow it?

Barbecues

In Spain there is no national law prohibiting barbecues on private property, so in principle it is legal as long as the barbecue is lit in a private space such as your own balcony, garden or terrace, and not a shared space.

Often in Spain, the roof (usually referred to as la terrazza) is a shared space people use for storage and hanging their laundry, so be sure to check with the comunidad.

In terms of your own balcony, however, although there’s no law saying outright you can’t have a barbecue, you’ll need to take into account the rules and regulations in force in each locality or region. There may also be specific rules within the building that long-term homeowners have developed over the years.

As we will see, many of these low-level regulations are delegated to local governments and town halls in Spain, so the answer to these sorts of questions is usually: it depends where you are.

However, according to Article 7 of Spain’s Horizontal Property Law, “the owner and the occupant of the flat or premises are not allowed to carry out in it or in the rest of the property activities prohibited in bylaws, which are harmful to the property or which contravene the general provisions on annoying, unhealthy, harmful, dangerous or illegal activities.”

This basically gives your neighbours the right to complain about noise, smells, smoke and any possible fire risk in or around their building, which barbecues could plausibly fall under.

As with co-living anywhere in the world, regardless of the regional or local rules, employ some common sense: be reasonable, listen to neighbour’s concerns and take up any disputes with the President of la comunidad.

READ ALSO: What you need to know before having a barbecue in Spain

Plants

Again, with plants the responsibility falls on each local authority to set the rules. In Spain, most regions and town halls state that, as long as the architectural or structural elements of the building are not changed or weakened in any way, putting plants on your balcony is permitted.

However, note that many terraces and balconies do have maximum weight regulations that must be respected in order to guarantee their safety, which is 200kg per square metre. If this figure is exceeded (and it can be proved) you could theoretically be fined.

Laundry

Laundry lines criss-crossing the streets might be one of the more picturesque images of Spanish life, but the people doing it might actually be breaking the rules.

How do you know? You guessed it, it depends where you. You’ll need to check with your local authority on this one, though municipal regulations in Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia all regulate hanging laundry from your balcony, which is again outlined in the Horizontal Property Law.

This principally seems to be because it affects the façade of the building (a common theme when it comes to balcony rules in Spain).

In places with rules about hanging laundry from balconies, you could be fined up to 750 euros if you don’t comply with the rules.

However, according to Foto Casa, even if you live in an area where there are no bans or penalties against hanging laundry on the balcony, you’ll still likely need the permission of la comunidad.

READ MORE: Spain’s weirdest laws that foreigners should know about

What about flags?

Whether it be the Spanish flag, the Catalan, Valencian or Andalusian flags, or LGBT, trade union or football team flags, flags proudly hanging from balconies is another mainstay of Spanish life.

It’s also one of the more controversial ones too, especially within comunidad meetings. Hanging flags on the balcony, as well as allegedly altering the aesthetics and security of the building (the same concern as with laundry) often has ideological connotations that can cause conflict.

Again, as with laundry, hanging flags on the balcony will require the approval of all the owners within the community, something that must be agreed at a meeting, as per the Horizontal Property Law.

However, if the flag is placed inside the property, as it is a private property, fellow homeowners cannot oppose it, even if it is visible from the street, according to Foto Casa.

Nudity 

Article of 185 of Spain’s Penal Code only considers being naked at home to be obscene exhibitionism and sexual provocation if it affects minors, in which case it is punishable with a fine or up to a year in prison.

Therefore, you could technically sunbathe shirtless or naked on your balcony in most cases without getting into trouble, although it won’t necessarily go down well with your neighbours and/or flatmates and you be reprimanded for it.

READ ALSO: Can you go shirtless or wear a bikini in the street in Spain?

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