1000 more radar traps destined for 2010 fund raising

For those that are caught speeding, especially by the unmarked cars, if you are driving on a UK or Irish licence, expect to pay your fine on the spot!

Have you ever wondered about driving ticket quotas, government funding for police resources or if you are going to be a hapless victim of a radar trap in an area that is most certainly not a safety speed zone! Then 2010 shall probably be the year that you are most likely to be fined. The DGT traffic authority is primarily jointly funded through speeding and other road traffic fines plus from the tax on new vehicle registrations. However, due to the economic situation, less new cars are being bought than ever before and so the DGT is forecasting a fall in new car sales taxes; thus it’s looking for another source of income.

Enter the Radar Speed Camera Trap for 2010. DGT income for 2010 is expected to be just shy of 500 million, down 9.2% on 2009. To combat this downturn, next year Spain shall add over 1,000 new permanent Radar Traps set up around Spain, with the majority destined for Madrid, Barcelona, Costa Blanca and Costa del Sol.  Congress foresees a possible 3.8% increase in income through radar speed ticketing.  

The British Government and Police forces have received major criticism about the placement of speed traps solely as a money making exercise, with little or no regard to them actually cutting down on the accident or death rates on UK roads. However in Spain, the Government expects to swell its coffers by at least 430 million euros in fines next year thus justifying the higher number of radar traps installed on the nation’s roads.

In 2010 at least one and half million drivers are expected to loose points on their licence from 2.2 million incidences, up 100,000 more than in 2009. Presently there are 500 radar traps in operation but that number will increase to 1,500 by 2011. Feeling sick to the stomach already?  The news gets even worse as 2010 will see 21 more mobile radar systems installed in camouflaged vehicles, to add to the 18 acquired this year!

For those that are caught speeding, especially by the unmarked cars, if you are driving on a UK or Irish licence, expect to pay your fine on the spot! And to make it even easier for them to fine you, the PSOE Government is also pushing through an unopposed Bill to make it an infraction if you drive at just one kilometre over the speed limit! Apart from driving under the speed limit and probably risking being tail-ended, by a faster car, one of your few defences is a decent GPS device, which announces upcoming Speed cameras. However, radar detectors, flashing lights to warn others of speed traps, pointing at unmarked cars and the like is, in itself, a traffic violation in Spain! Local automobile associations expect to see more radar traps added to the AP7’s tunnels, around Benidorm and on stretches around the major Airports, to catch those running late for their flights!

Last year, 1,700 Spanish drivers were caught using Radar Detectors. Under Spanish law it’s not illegal to sell or buy one, just to install it in your car! If caught using one, expect a fine of up to 600 euros. However, many drivers would rather pay the fine, if caught, than risk larger speeding fines and the removal of points from their licence. One thing is for sure; Big Brother is going to be watching you even more closely in Spain during 2010!

Keith Nicol

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