How to get live traffic reports in Spain

There are certain times of year in Spain that restrictions are put in place to control certain vehicle movements, in order to try to ease the general flow of traffic. We are talking in particular about periods usually around holiday times, when more movements are expected on the roads.

Whereas there are apps that give live traffic information, such as Google Maps and Waze, amongst others, the Spanish traffic department, the DGT, also provide live information, but the big difference is that they also provide details of restrictions.

Whereas the regulatory measures such as restrictions limit circulation only temporarily and always on specific dates, established “in order to promote road safety, mobility and fluidity of circulation,” the information is useful any time we might want to travel on the roads, and also includes the adverse effects of weather conditions.

To explain about the restrictions first, they normally only restrict certain types of vehicles, such as vehicles for the transport of goods in general of more than 7,500 kilos of maximum authorised or overall mass, vehicles for transporting dangerous goods that must carry orange danger signalling panels according to ADR, and special vehicles and vehicles that require complementary circulation authorisation.

These restrictions are published on the DGT website, in a specific section, collecting all the information on the limitations, including a file with the restrictions on movement. In addition, a map, which we will talk about more in a moment, constantly shows the active traffic restrictions for today.

The map, which is part of the DGT 3.0 project, is updated 24 hours a day collates information from sensors on the roads, satellites, and live information from the Traffic Group of the Guardia Civil patrolling the roads, as well as the numerous Traffic Management Centres around the country.

The map also includes useful information such as the location of fixed radar points, and live traffic cameras.

Likewise, in more conflictive periods for circulation, the website offers the possibility of downloading the special restrictions due to mass movements.

In the restrictions section, the DGT website also details the itinerary network for dangerous goods. And it informs, for example, of temporary cuts to improve “road safety in sections with high accident rates”.

Through other channels, the DGT collates the events that affect circulation in a more or less unexpected way, this information is fed to social networks, particularly on Twitter.

Before we give you all of the links to browser the information, we just need to explain the Basque and Catalan exceptions. The DGT restrictions on movement are for the entire national territory except for the Autonomous Communities of Catalonia and the Basque Country, which, because they have transferred traffic powers, can apply their own restrictions.

Where to find the information:

The live traffic map, which details what is happening in real time, can be viewed at https://infocar.dgt.es/etraffic/

You can then scroll around, zoom in and out, and drag the map to find the locations you are interested in.

On Twitter, follow @InformacionDGT (https://twitter.com/InformacionDGT) for live updates, and @DGTes (https://twitter.com/DGTes) for more general news.

If you understand Spanish reasonably well, you can also telephone 011.

For information on restrictions, visit https://www.dgt.es/conoce-el-estado-del-trafico/restricciones-a-la-circulacion/

The map showing restrictions for the day is at https://infocar.dgt.es/etraffic/Previsiones?datePrevisiones=05/12/2022&provincia=77&poblacion=&carretera=&caracter=prevision&PK=&version=mapa&pagina=null&accion_buscar=Buscar&IncidenciasRETENCION=false&IncidenciasOBRAS=false&IncidenciasMETEOROLOGICA=false&IncidenciasPUERTOS=false&IncidenciasOTROS=false&IncidenciasEVENTOS=false&IncidenciasRESTRICCIONES=true&soloMapa=true

Finally, if you are feeling adventurous, the DGT are also beta testing a new map, and although it is some way off being launched, you can play around with it now at http://mapamovilidad.dgt.es/home.htm

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