How to make a quick buck 'DGT Style': Part One

Forewarned is Forearmed

DGT (the traffic department of Spain) will be enforcing new stricter ‘road safety’ laws. Currently, speed cameras on motorways are set to give you a margin of error of approximately 10 km over the speed limit before sending you a fine or ‘multa’ for speeding. In a few weeks time, this will no longer be the case.
Now, there will be a zero margin. Currently, Spain adheres to the average EU tolerance levels for margin of velocity variance. Unless you are a professional driver, and have your tachometre officially calibrated, your vehicle may vary considerably.

A UK based company, Datron Technology, who calibrate police speed guns, recently testeda Ford Sierra, a Rover Metro and a Jeep Cherokee. Despite being driven at various speeds, none of the vehicles recorded an accurate reading. Series producer Julie Clive states, "The Sierra's speedometer was recording 20mph while the instruments say it was really travelling at over 22mph. If zero tolerance were to be imposed {in the UK}, the driver of such a vehicle could be prosecuted.” The DGT does not appear to be taking this ‘minor detail’ into consideration.
To further clarify, when the new changes for the ‘road safety’ laws come into force in a few weeks time, all vehicles caught by radar that are said to be travelling more than 120 km/h regardless of the circumstances, will be fined. If you are clocked speeding at 121 you will be fined.

One can argue that Spain is going against EU laws and recommendations, which it might well be, that’s up to lawyers and politicians to decide. If that is the case, legal EU court proceedings against Spain in the future could take months or years to appeal and/or over turn. By that time, Spain will have significantly increased their revenue amounts.

What this has to do with ‘road safety’ I really don’t know. Now, the natural trend for drivers will be to concern themselves more with getting a speeding ticket (especially in this economy) rather then driving defensively, in essence increasing their chances of getting into an accident. Call a spade a spade and at the very least, inform the public that the reason for these changes in the laws, is for revenue purposes, pure and simple. Don’t try to sell the public the idea that this is for our own safety. If it is for our own safety, then points should be also taken off your driving licence, if you are endangering the public in some way. Under the new referendum however, you will not have any points taken off your drivers licence. The DGT stated that they don’t consider speeding violations on the motorway to be as dangerous as speeding within city limits and therefore do not contribute to the high mortality rates, so no points will be taken off. Basically, they want you to pay the fines. After all, if they withdrew your license, how could they fine you again?