The Director General of Traffic, Gregorio Serrano,has announced plans to research adding unmarked motorbikes to the Guardia Civil’s fleet of vehicles.
The traffic department of the Guardia Civil already use unmarked cars on some speed monitoring campaigns, and during other enforcement activities such as monitoring the use of seatbelts or mobile phones whilst driving. Unmarked cars can also be used on covert surveillance.
This latest announcement would see traffic officers taking to the streets on unmarked motorbikes, which would not only allow for greater monitoring of vehicles, it would mean that deployment is both quicker and more adaptable to a variety of roads.
The unmarked bikes would not only be able to monitor cars and larger vehicles, their size and speed would also allow for better monitoring of the activities of more vulnerable road users, such as motorbikes and cyclists, both of whom have equal rights on the roads, but also equal responsibility to abide by the same laws.
Unmarked and discreet motorbikes are already deployed in countries such as the UK, where officers not only patrol on street bikes, but also off-road, tackling crime and offences in more rural areas cross-country.
The UK has also gone the opposite way in terms of covert enforcement, with a number of forces using unmarked HGV cabs to monitor and police the roads.
One of these vehicles took the head of the Highways Agency, who provided the vehicle, on a recent example drive, during which 6 drivers were seen using their mobile phones on the motorway and dealt with accordingly.
The enhancement of new equipment for the Spanish traffic law enforcement teams has seen compact speed, alcohol and drugs monitoring equipment being made available for the patrol bikes and adding these unmarked bikes to the fleet will ensure that those who choose to ignore the dangers are dealt with quicker, making the roads safer for all.
