DRIVER SAFETY & other issues

• Speeding at high rates in dangerous zones, especially residential areas. The new laws allow those caught now to be sent to jail, and if an accident occurs where someone is killed, then the offender, if there is one, can be sure of a jail sentence and high cost damages to be paid to the victims.  Doing 70 kph in a 30kph zone is potentially far more dangerous that 150 kph in a 120 zone.

• Driving with a mobile phone held to an ear. Even though the driver may be in an expensive motor car and the penalties now are stiff fines and penalty points. We still see this happening every day. There are discussions now about making the use of a mobile phone illegal even with hands-free as the accidents prove that any such distraction such as lighting a cigarette, eating food, scolding naughty children who may not be strapped into approved car seats, arguing with your partner, and so on. SatNavs? I can appreciate the convenience for many in today's heavy traffic in the major towns and consideration needs to be given to the safety implications of such devices.

• Driving drunk or drugged. The roadside police now have the new drug testing device that can, as with the breathalyser, can cause a charge to be made. Only those who have lost a loved one to a drunken driver, and I am not talking about those who just have a glass of wine with a meal, but the ones who go out knowing they are going to be way over the limit when they drive back. Remember the limits are much lower here than in the UK.

• No driving licence or insurance. The former will automatically cause the no insurance problem, and we read in especially the Spanish Press the high numbers of people that are driving without one or both of these necessary legal needs. It could be said that if all those who fall into this category could be instantly eliminated from the roads, a large proportion of the CO2 problem would be solved. Those of us with a foreign EU driving licence who are resident also need to remember the need for medicals as for the Spanish drivers.

• Driving un-roadworthy vehicles. Some of the older vehicles we see around, especially in the campo, look as if they would fail the ITV on appearance alone with battered bodies and things hanging down underneath, and these are to be
discouraged for in many cases they are not insured, but in the small spaces in the car parks here, they also do not care about scraping your pristine car with its painted plastic bumpers.

• Not re-registering your foreign plated car onto Spanish plates. Those who have already done this to be legal are now complaining about those who have not as they are not paying the local taxes, and as the ITV is not a legal way to get round the MOT etc, although the ITV station will still take your cash for doing it, if you get stopped by the police it will highlight the fact that you are illegal, in other words, you most likely should be on Spanish plates.

• How many of the older cars are really roadworthy Especially when they are not taken for ITV or an MOT? I see the latter are catered for by the criminal element in the UK who offer MOT certificates for about €150 - 200, without even seeing your vehicle and blatantly advertising their telephone numbers and e-mail addresses in the UK.

Carry a camera
I see that one insurance company here now issues each of their insured with a neat little accident kit with the report form, a pen and a throwaway camera in it. I have carried such a camera in the glove-box for years and found it very useful, even when helping out when you arrive at the scene of an accident miles from civilisation where someone may be distraught and obviously not the cause of an accident. A picture saves a thousand words is the old saying.  Also, according to a statement in the local Press by Ilagoson Lawyers that an insurance company must provide Third Party cover up to six months after a policy has expired, something I did not know before now means that many of the laws are good here with the protection they give.  But, of course, we pay about €5 - 6 a year for this "consorcio" fund that the insurance companies administer to cover the costs of uninsured drivers.

NEW CAR TAXES FROM JANUARY 1st 2008
Those who are about to buy a new small car can, from the 1st January, go and visit the showrooms where the new lower taxes for the smaller cars taxes are now in force. Cars will be taxed on the exhaust pollution they cause and all cars up to 120 Gm/Km will now be rated at zero basic tax. The full details are in my web-site. The IVA will still apply, but on a lower basic cost figure now. If your love is a big 4 x 4 or a Ferrari, sorry, but your taxes will increase. We may be looking at a new car later in the year when the market has settled down again, and I have found that the summer months are a good time to buy as the sales are down which means a good bargain can be struck with dealers anxious to move stock. Also, the factory production lines will have solved all the little problems that occur during assembly of a new model.

Note: Those who would like a vehicle expenses record plan as previously promised, if you would please send me an e-mail with "VER" and your name in the subject line (so I can see it is not SPAM) to me at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , I will send you a Microsoft Excel file and notes on how to use it that will do the job; as I have used for the last six years. All the best for 2008!