Major Campaign Launched to Clamp Down on Bad Drivers

The DGT has launched another campaign against speeding motorists, looking particularly at conventional roads, and for habitual offenders.

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As a result, the Guardia Civil will be stepping up surveillance on main roads, with an increase in checkpoints, speed checks and with Pegasus watching from the air.

According to data released by the DGT, during the months of January and February this year, 147 people lost their lives in traffic accidents on conventional roads, out of a total of 166 deaths. Reducing incidents on this type of road is therefore a priority for the DGT.

When they first held such a comprehensive campaign, the Plan Integral de vigilancia, which was in December of last year, 104,561 complaints were processed and 62,457 drivers were reported for speeding, with another 1,284 drivers reported for other offences.

During the campaign, speed, alcohol and drugs, as being riskier behaviour, will all be monitored, and in combination, and so a driver who is detected committing an offense of speeding will be stopped and identified, and then, if considered necessary, tested for alcohol and drugs, as well as a comprehensive review of documentation to check that both driver´s license, ITV and vehicle insurance are all in order. At the same time, the vehicle will also be checked over to ensure that maintenance is correct and there are no anomalies that could also be reported as an offence. In other words, a driver who is stopped for speeding will not only face the immediate consequences of that action, with a fine and points, the driver and vehicle will also undergo a thorough, and time consuming check to ensure there are no other matters that can be dealt with by the law enforcers.

It is also worth remembering that a driver detected speeding can be punished with a fine from 100 to 600 euro and the loss of between 2 and 6 points. If the driver has consumed alcohol in excess of the permitted maximum limit there is a 500 euro fine and the loss of 4 points, remembering that the fine is 1,000 euro if recurrent. Driving having consumed drugs, which may well be prescription medication in some cases remember, will see a fine of 1,000 euro and the loss of 6 points. But these fines are just the start of it, the lower end of the scale, because if the offences are of a more significant degree, they can be dealt with under the penal code and deemed to be crimes against road safety under the criminal code, with imprisonment and denial of permission to drive.

During the course of the campaign, there will be 1,800 traffic patrol officers on duty specifically looking for these issues, supported by the 12 helicopters of the DGT, including the six equipped with the Pegasus airborne radar equipment.

Reckless driving, inappropriate overtaking, distractions whilst driving, using the mobile phone, and of course speeding, are all what the eyes of the law will be looking out for during this campaign.