Speeding fines in Spain

900 euro fine in Spain

Failing to identify the driver in certain speeding fines in Spain can be expensive. The car owner will get a 900 euro fine. These fines triple the amount of the original fine, and there is no early payment reduction.

These are the most common speeding fines in Spain,

100 euro: about 75% of the fines. This is the only speeding fine in which identifying the driver is not mandatory, as points will not be taken off the driver's licence.
300 euro: about 15% of the fines. Two points taken off.
400 euro: about 5% of the fines. Four oints taken off.
500 euro: about 4% of the fines. Six points taken off.
600 euro: about 1% of the fines. Six points taken off, and driver might be sent to court.

Fines for failing to identify the driver triple the previous ones,

300 euro: very rare, just in cases when the car owner is not a physical person and refuses to acknowledge the fine.
900 euro: 80% of the fines for not identifying the driver.
1200 euro: 12%.
1500 euro: 8%.
1800 euro: very rare.

Fines for failing to identify the driver can be disputed, and it is easier than you might think, but we will talk about that later on.

Update: good information about these tickets in Spanish in this URL (copy and paste in Google Translate): http://sanciones.info/www-dgt-es/tramites-y-multas/multa-de-900-euros-por-no-identificar-al-conductor/

To pay or not to pay, that is the question

Spanish residents can hardly escape the Tax Agency, but tourists visiting the country might think they can avoid paying a fine... Well, they can, though it won't be easy.

Spanish authorities have up to four years to request that a fine be paid, but they try for up to a year. If by that time the driver does not comply, the fine will be charged to the car owner... And the car owner, usually a car rental company, will not hesitate to charge the user card and demand all applicable fees according to the contract.

Our advice is to pay for the fine as soon as possible... And getting the 50% reduction available to early payers.

Driving in Spain: the best routes

A speeding fine is always an ordeal, but driving in Spain can be a gratifying experience. Consider having a look at the next few links before your next trip to Spain:

Fines in Spain: sample letter

Did you receive a letter from the DGT (Spanish Traffic Authority)? The information in the letter is organized in numbered areas, as you can see in the picture.

Date of the offence, time and record number: you will need both the date and the record number to pay for the fine (the record number, 'número expediente' in Spanish, has 12 digits).
Legal stuff: article and law you broke.
Where: precise location where the offence took place.
Why: a brief explanation of the offence (in speeding fines it includes both the car speed and the limit speed for the road).
Vehicle data: if the car was rented, you can check your contract and confirm that the car rental company didn't make a mistake.
Your name and address: if you have received the letter these data are likely to be correct.

You don't really need to read / translate all the text below, all the information you need is there.

Pro tip: you can reply to the letter and request that they send you a copy in English or in your mother tongue (the address is below the Spanish coat of arms).

Barcelona to enforce towing service

BCN city hall has informed the tow service personnel that their contractual conditions will be unilaterally changed starting last 1st January. To sum up, every worker will have to work 10 more days a year - for the same salary.

The ultimate purpose of this measure is to increase municipal revenue from towing fines, which are already the most expensive in Spain (starting at 150 EUR, plus parking or traffic fine and increased depending on the time the car spends in the deposit).

As in every major European city, parking in Barcelona is more difficult every month. and more expensive!

Fixed speeding cameras in Spain: numbers

Spanish roads sum over 165.000 kilometres. There are around 5 speeding cameras for every 1.000 kilometers of roads, but the distribution of the speed cameras is anything but uniform.

Two autonomous communities in Spain, the Basque Country and Catalonia, sum more than 30% of the speeding cameras in the country, with record averages of 13'5 speeding traps every 1.000 kilometers in the Basque Country and 18 in Catalonia.

That means that if you hire a car in Barcelona and use it for about a week you will be monitored between 20 and 100 times, depending on how much you drive... Take into account that speeding cameras are often placed in touristic areas, you will probably find well over 18 for every 1.000 kilometers on the road.

The average speeding cameras every 1.000 kilometers reduces to 9 in Madrid. The lowest rates are found in Castile and Leon (2'45), Extremadura (2'18) and Navarra (1).

Car rental in Spain

Renting a car is one of the best ways to move around Spain. Driving in Spain is pretty much like driving in any other european country. There are three things you should remember if you decide to rent a car in Spain:

know your rights: if you hire a car within the EU you should read this site before leaving home.
speed limits: 50 km/h in urban areas (though it can be reduced to 30 km/h), 100 km/h in interurban roads (90 km/h in smaller roads) and 120 km/h in highways. Respecting these limits is the best way to avoid speeding fines.
there is much more to Spain than the coast: consider, for example, these five one-day excursions from Madrid.