Speeding mayor one of two drivers caught at more than 200km per hour

TWO speeding drivers have been caught doing more than 200 kilometres per hour in separate incidents on Spain’s roads over the last six days.

In the incident on Friday July 31, it was a Spanish mayor who was at fault, driving more than 211 kilometres per hour at Km622 on the N-420 in Teruel province when he was caught by a speed trap. The stretch of the road he was driving on, which has a speed limit of 100 kilometres per hour, was being monitored by traffic police as it is known for being particularly dangerous.

Juan Carlos Gracia Suso, mayor of Alcañiz and a Partido Popular local government minister, was sentenced to pay a fine of €1,800 and had his licence confiscated for 16 months. The mayor publicly apologised for his behaviour but ignored calls from opposition groups for his resignation.

In another incident just six days later on Wednesday August 5, according to the Madrid Guardia Civil office, a Spanish man driving a French-registered car was spotted by a traffic helicopter driving at 218 kilometres per hour on the R-4 toll road, which has a speed limit of 120 km per hour. When traffic officers stopped the man, they discovered his young child seated without child car safety restraints in the back seat. 

The 31-year-old man, who was driving a white Porsche Panamera at Km31 in the direction of Toledo, is to appear in court on traffic charges and if found guilty could lose his licence from between one to four years as well as receiving a fine or being given community service.