A furious Spanish laywer has called for a crackdown on Brits breaking the law behind the wheel in Spain, with many having unpaid fines.
According to data held by the Ministry of Interior, there are nearly 3,000 unpaid motoring fines that occurred in Spain by motorists with Gibraltar-registered vehicles.
Speaking to the Spanish news organisation La Razon, the lawyer Guillermo Rocaford, author of the book ‘Keys for Spain to Recover Gibraltar’, highlighted that many offences were caused by Brits visiting the area.
He explained: “They drive very poorly and are used to going at high speed. They have luxury cars, cross the border and believe they can drive at any speed in Spain.
“The English have always driven poorly, but if there is no possibility of seizing their accounts and enforcing penalties established later on, they live in a state of absolute impunity; that’s something Spanish authorities should press a little more.”
Responding to a request by the Director General of Traffic (DGT) in Spain, the Ministry of Interior highlighted there are 2,837 unpaid fines caused by vehicles registered in Gibraltar.
This figure is particularly high considering that Gibraltar only has 32,649 residents, leading many to believe that many fines are being caused by tourists.
Whilst an agreement was set up between Spain and the UK, which has sovereignty over Gibraltar, in April 2023 to exchange information, bank accounts in Gibraltar are still difficult to access, making it harder to force drivers to pay fines.
Mr Rocaford called for more measures to be introduced in a bid to give the DGT access to bank accounts in Gibraltar.
He added: “What’s really unacceptable is having 3,000 pending fines; it shows there’s an anomaly there.
“Because, just like you and me, DGT can seize us for traffic fines; bank accounts in Gibraltar are very opaque which shows they’re not playing fair because DGT can’t access those documents.”
Whilst most driving laws enforced in Spain follow the same logic as elsewhere in the world, the country can be stricter on some lesser-known offences.
For example, those who eat or even drink water behind the wheel are breaking the law, with offenders fined between €80 (£65) and €200 (£165).
Moreover, those who enter a low emission zone in a non-compliant car will also need to pay any daily charges, with motorists forgetting to pay being fined another €200 (£165).
