Speed cameras on Spanish roads

I have just added a blog post about Spanish speed cameras.  Might be useful to some people...

whilst I would always try to avoid speeding....... already got 6 points on my licience........ if you do get caught fine aside can they put points on your licience do you know? I don't live in spain but we have a home there which we visit quite often but hire a car.......... well for the time being anyway

It's amazing what the police will do to catch anyone who is speeding.

Interesting site. Seems there's a grand total of 14 speed cameras in the entire province of Malaga. I think I passed more than that last time I drove from Liverpool airport to the city centre - I find driving in the UK rather nerve wracking these days! Not saying they're over the top, but have a look at this:

  That is soooo funny!!

Pity he didn't let the missile do it's job.

Nicola,

The Spanish points system is different to the UK system.  In Spain you start with 12 points and for every offence they take points off.  You can also get extra points if you haven't been caught.  So if you have a UK licence, I can't see how they could give you any points in Spain.  That's one of the reason why I am keeping my UK licence.  No doubt in the future it will be harmonized across the EU but I wouldn't hold my breath.

This expains why the Guardia still take large sums of money from non Spanish licence holders at the roadside, or escort you the cash point.

Thankfully this has never happened to me but I know of many cases where this has been the case, apparently drink driving is still only 500 euros and no further action.

No, they cannot put points on a UK licence yet but it is going to happen soon!

Thanks for the link David...very useful..although I never speed 

Great story Roberto, thanks for sharing.

Justin

sanchez1, yes they can. See here;  

Deduction Of Points For Foreign Drivers
The most common traffic infractions are alcohol consumption and speeding. Especially in the Costa del
Sol, driving under the influence of alcohol is most frequent amongst foreigners. If the breathalyzer test
is positive, at present, the fine will be 600 €. Shortly, a new law will be passed to qualify drinking
drivers as criminal offenders penalized with imprisonment.
European Foreign Residents are no longer obliged to have a Spanish driving licence as they can drive
with a driving licence from their country or a European one. If you wish to keep your foreign driving
licence, you must know that when stopped and fined by the Guardia Civil, you will be automatically
registered on the list of foreign drivers and will have points deducted accordingly. Nevertheless, if you
live in Spain, it is advisable to change your licence to a Spanish one or register on the list of foreign
drivers.
Foreigners with a Spanish driving licence:
 Points will be deducted just the same as a Spanish citizen.
Foreigners with a driving licence from their country:
 There are 2 possibilities:
○ If you have an NIE number: You will be considered as a regular driver in Spain. From
the moment that you are stopped and fined by the Guardia Civil or Local Police, a note with
the points that have been deducted will be registered on the list of foreign drivers. Each time
you commit an offence, points will be deducted accordingly. When you have reached 12
points, you will be driving illegally and if you are stopped by the Guardia Civil or Police,
after checking with the Traffic Department, you will be arrested.
○ If you do not have an NIE number: You will be considered as a Non-Resident and will
have to pay the fine immediately on site or your car will be confiscated until the fine is paid.
You will not be registered on the list of foreign drivers and points will not be deducted.

Basically if you have an NIE they do the same as the DVLA , in the UK and create a 'non-licence' for you which is then used to deduct ( or in the UK,add points ) I have also been told that in some regions they are treating non- NIE holders the same.

There's also more info. here;

http://spain.angloinfo.com/countries/spain/driving.asp#drink

Good post; let's hope it reminds everyone that being British in Spain does not mean you are beyond the reach of laws which are more or less the same all over the world.

I've added another blog post to show what a speed camera typically looks like in Spain.  Check it out here.

Thanks for the heads up David.

Always did wonder what those little grey blurs were on the side of the road... made such a difference from the green and blue blurs that people used to tell me about every time we got back from Malaga Airport!!!

Justin, you know what I mean, don't you!!!

Thought :-

Say you did get 'snapped' by one of these cameras whilst driving a UK reg car, which is registered to say your old UK address, where you used to live say 5 years ago! What would they do then?

Think about it! How many UK cars are there in Spain that haven't been re-registered? And what would happen if one of these cars gets caught on a Spanish speed camera!

I would imagine that these tickets aren't going to catch up with the car until it's stopped by the Guardia Civil... but seeing as there are special units of said now setting up on roundabouts and stopping foreign platted cars when spotted, time I would say is not on the side of all those illegal foreign cars in Spain.

And what about if you decided to re-register a UK car and find out it has loads of these fines against it???

Interesting eh!

Me! I love driving on Spanish Motorways at night..