New speed Limits

Can anyone tell me if anyone especially the spanish actually drives  at new reduced speed limit of 110 km

what speed would actually attract the attention of the Guarda

I'm driving down to Duquesa from Santander next week, that speed would add 2-3 hours on the trip!

Being over the speed limit will get you an expensive photo!

SPEED KILLS!

Patricia

 1.  Yes, most people seem to be sticking to the new speed limit.  Of course, you will get overtaken, just like in UK if you go at 70.

2.  I'm driving down to Duquesa from Santander next week, that speed would add 2-3 hours on the trip!     

    Even if you could travel at the top limit all the way, the difference would be less than an hour.  Of course, on the bits that aren't motorway it won't make any difference at all.   1157 km at 120 kph would take 9 hours and 40 approx.  at 110kph is 10 hours and 30 approx.

No-one ever died from speed - unless you're talking about amphetamines.  It's stopping too abruptly when driving at high speed when you hit the tree or the car coming the other way that kills.  Bad driving, dangerous driving, reckless driving; they all kill.  Speeding should not be a crime of itself but should be used as evidence of dangerous driving, reckless driving etc.

Hi there
Its a great idea certainly better than fuel going up, I went to Ikea in Malaga on Saturday I was coming from Almunecar I began to wonder if my car was going backward, I'm sure I was the only one keeping within the speed limit!

 

Hi all

Does any one know if lights on during day time driving is law yet.

Julie

 Well, that's a new one.  Haven't seen or heard any rumours about that.  Motorcyclists have to keep headlights on all the time but haven't seen anything about it for cars.  Mind you, half the Spanish and expats don't seem to use headlights at night, either.  Must think they're saving their battery or something.

And then I came across this:

Daytime use of headlights

There followed much discussion over whether cars across Europe should have their headlights on all the time the engine was running – many countries introduced local rules while the European commission considered possible pan-European rules and compulsory technical standards for new cars.

By 2006 12 countries required drivers to drive with their headlights on all year round including Sweden since 1977, Iceland, Latvia, Macedonia and Norway since around 1980, Denmark since 1990 and Romania, Slovenia and parts of Portugal since 1998.

Four – Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic – required this in the winter only while Hungary and Italy required daytime running lights outside built up areas.

I

Thank you for that.

Julie

The temporary speed limits have just been removed.  

The cost:-  230,00 euros to put new stickers over the temporary ones as the temp ones cannot be removed as the glue was too good !!! 

I did read some time ago that,  as from about now, all new cars in Spain will have lights which come on automatically with the ignition, but I can't find the reference now.  It will not be obligatory for all, cars.

Reading the above threads, I wanted to give my views on a particular driving habit of many drivers in Spain. I cannot state their nationality obviously but I have NEVER in my life experienced so much, the stupid and ridiculous "tailgating" that seems to occur ALL the time, whether on the Autovias or the minor roads, it makes no difference whatsoever!!

Allegedly, Spain has one of the highest death rates of the western world. One can easily understand why.

When you view TV pictures of accidents, it is almost always total carnage and death!! There is no way, that at motorway speeds especially, that people can react in time when following so close to the vehicle in front!!

To rub salt into the wound, the Police presence on the roads of Spain are virtually nil.

I have learned to mainly stay in the right lane and let the madmen scream by me!!

I suppose the only good thing in all this is, it creates a plentiful supply of organ donors!!

Tailgating is so ridiculous, I was coming from Nerja last Saturday, a dog was on the motorway two cars in front braked hard car behind pushed the other car into the barrier, both cars a real mess.

Julie

bet now first driver wishes he had just run over the damm dog

Tailgating is, as suggested, both dangerous and unplesant.

However, it's not the case that Spain has a notably high RTA fatality rate. Globally, it's 18th from bottom (WHO data), and below countries such as Canada, New Zealand, Ireland, Denmark, Belgium, Luxembourg, Italy, Portugal and the USA.

Thanks everyone for these informations.

I have just driven from Scotland to Estepona  and back, and in my opinion drivers in France and Spain are much better than the UK especially in their lane discipline.

Yes, national speed limit back up to 120 kph on again!  People still sped anyway so I can't imagine it was that useful an exercise.

tinto, that's quite a claim there!  Lane discipline is the one aspect of driving in Spain that bothers me the most, particularly those these seem to drift along and not quite happy just sitting in the middle of their own lane.

Although tailgating is incredibly dangerous, what I have found here is that people do tend to pull over and let these nutters past, whilst when I used to live in the UK, if someone was tailgating you the last thing you would do is move over and let them through...probably therefore more likely to lead to an accident I think.

Justin

On our last couple of trips since the introduction of the lower speed limit we noticed a marked increase in the number of "I'm going to drive 8kph under the speed limit on this autovia--but do it in the middle lane, even though there's no traffic on the inside lane"--thereby causing grief and anguish to following drivers.

Is overtaking on both sides allowed in Spain ?--we did see quite a few people making the move but weren't sure if it's legal to do it.

Crostrad...

The answer is no, its not legal, but everyone seems to do it when it suits them including the GC!

The rule seems to be interpreted as if you are on a 3 lane motorway and the centre lane is occupied by a stream of slower traffic, (not just an individual car / truck) if you are in the inside lane in a stream of traffic then overtaking on the inside is permissable.

(When I lived in Reading and worked at Heathrow, I used to commute the M4 corridor every day at peak hours. Invariably it was far quicker to use the inside lane and stay in it all the way).

Just be concsious of the fact that regardless of country, some centre lane traffic will at some point switch to the nearside lane at or approaching an off ramp... if you are overtaking in the inside lane at this point then the resulting accident is YOURS... not the guy changing lanes!

Just a general thought on the Speed limits...

A92 Eastbound towards Granada, Km 210 junction for Moraleda and Alhama de Granada...

Slip roads are for accelerating up to or decelerating from motorway speeds... right? No real point in having them otherwise.

The eastbound off slip however is totally different; there is a 40kph limit applied, just 25 metres from the painted line on the motorway. Which means that one has to start slowing down on the motorway so as to cross the line at 40kph or less.

The speed limit on the motorway at that point is 110 / 120kph. so this early braking is at the risk of having a 44 tonne artics up your ass or a Seville or Malaga to Granada express coach blasting it's indignational air horns at you,  just because you want to leave the motorway.

The GC recently re-discovered this little 'gotcha' and have for the last month or so been milking it for all its worth. I got tagged, whilst braking, by a mobile unit hiding just off the slip road about 75metres from the line...
 In the space of just 20 minutes, the time taken to process the ticket, me and about a dozen others were all stopped and fined. The actual speed check point was just 25 metres after leaving the main drag.

Given that my fine amounted to 150€ (50% reduction for prompt payment) the GC must have cleared almost enough in one month to single handedly pay off the months interest on Spains national debt.

I am not using this as an excuse; I know I was in the wrong, but I strongly query the need for a 40kph limit at that particular point.

200 metres further in Yes by all means, but not at the very point of exiting a motorway. It poses a totally unnecessary hazard.

As for the restoration of the 120kph limit, not a moment too soon in my book; no matter which way you look at it this was never more than a revenue earning move, put in place by the authoriities because they can....!

The difference in my car between 110 and 120kph in 5th gear reduces overall fuel consumption not a jot... fuel savings are made by gradual acceleration and braking rather than pedal to the metal variations.

This government has taken a page out of the Blair handbook on how to screw the public... there are Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics....

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