Summer driving: Five tips to stay on the right side of the law
During the summer, the roads of Spain are busy with holiday traffic and the police step up their surveillance activities.
Here are five top tips to help keep you and your family safe – and the police happy.
1. Make sure that your driving licence is valid. If you have been resident in Spain for more than two years, then you may have to exchange your own country’s licence for a Spanish licence. Police are checking and fining people with invalid licences. See Citizens Advice Bureau Spain for information here.
2. Don’t drive in flip flops. You risk a fine of up to 200 euros for wearing inappropriate footwear.
3. Don’t drive in zig zags to avoid those new speed bumps approaching the roundabouts on the N340. They really do make your car shake, but we’ve been told of people getting fined 100 euros for doing this.
4. Don’t drink and drive. Extra patrols will be out and about at fiesta times.
5. Remember the helicopters! Even if you can’t see a police car or bike nearby, the police might be watching from above. Police helicopters can even spot if you’ve got your seatbelt on or if you are using a mobile phone.
Hi. Thanks for the driving advice. Could you possibly list the things we are supposed to carry in our cars? E.g. red triangle etc
Would be very helpful as I’ve had conflicting advice
Many thanks
Becca
Good idea. We’ll do an article as soon as we can. In the meantime, if anyone has any information about what to carry in cars in Spain, please do share it.
If I remember correctly, legally you must carry a florencent jacket, a warning triangle, and possibly spare bulbs, but not sure about the latter.