Fines of up to €1,000 in the latest DGT Christmas campaign

Fines of up to €1,000 in the latest DGT Christmas campaign

Fines of up to €1,000 are possible during a new General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) surveillance campaign on the Spanish road network which starts today, Monday, December 6. It will continue until Sunday, December 12. The entity has announced in a statement that around 20,000 daily controls for alcohol and drugs will be carried out during what is known to be the period of Christmas parties.

With a whole bunch of new and revised laws in place since last week, drivers need to be aware that the DGT intends to clamp down on all traffic infringements, not only alcohol and drugs.

Guardia Civil traffic cops, as well as officers from Local Polices forces, will be manning controls on all types of roads throughout the municipalities. These checkpoints will occur at various times of the day.

According to the report on toxicological findings in fatalities in traffic accidents, last year, of the total of 597 drivers who died in traffic accidents and underwent autopsy and toxicological analysis, almost 49 per cent of them tested positive for alcohol, drugs or psychotropic drugs. This is an increase of 3 points on 2019.

Drivers who test positive for alcohol with a rate of between 0.25 mg/litre of air breathed, and 0.50 mg/litre, face a fine of €500, in addition to the loss of four points from the driving licence.

If the result goes above 0.50 mg/litre, the penalty is €1,000, and six points from the driving licence. In the case of repeat offenders, the fine is still €1,000, but depending on the alcohol rate, the DGT can withdraw up to six points.

When a level of 0.60 mg/litre in expired air, and 1.2 mg/litre in blood are exceeded, this is considered a crime against road safety. Thus, the penalty becomes between three and six months in prison, a fine of six to 12 months, plus possible community service of between 30 and 90 days.

Also, the driver will not be allowed to drive in the next four years from the date of the offence.  Any driver refusing to submit to the tests, risks being punished with a prison sentence of from six to twelve months, and a four-year driving ban.

Testing positive for drugs, earns a fine of €1,000, with a loss of six points on the licence. When guilty of driving under the influence of toxic drugs, narcotics, or psychotropic substances, a driver can be punished with imprisonment for three to six months, a fine of six to twelve months, plus community service of between 30 and 90 days, in addition to a four-year driving ban, as reported by elespanol.com.

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