Spanish motorway robberies on british tourist etc

I mostly carry no ID at all.  I tend to carry a couple of hundred Dollars / Euros or whatever currency unless I'm going to have an expensive day or evening when I tend to take just one credit card with me.  I do like the sound of a mini passport just to show as ID as if you lost it it wouldn't really cause a lot of trouble and I'm sure most people would accept it as proof of ID but I'll be honest I can't remember in years when anyone has wanted ID from me outside of a formal business meeting / stockbroker (we are updating our client records blah blah) etc.

An Aussie cop got a bit shirty but then I discovered the hire car doc had my home details and licence number on it so he was happy to issue the fine to that!!!

I was caught speeding in Spain and had no ID at all on me, I was just wearing shorts and a shirt but had few pesetas and a credit card and they were quite happy to follow me to the cash point, issue me with a fine and get paid.  Those were the days!

I would definitely never carry my passport with me unless I was on my way to the airport / notary or on an occasion when  needed to have it. Mind you, with the burglary rate so high in many parts of Spain now you have to wonder where it's safer?  Main thing to remember is this, of course most of us know someone who has been burgled or robbed because we know a lot of people.  I know two people who have had their feet broken by horses but it doesn't mean it's going to happen to me!!!

26.06.2014. This morning drove down to Barcelona from France and stopped at the last service station before Barcelona , and just after the last Toll on the AP7. We stopped for a coffee break and when we went back to the car a person in a car parked next to us said that our rear right hand tyre was punctured. It seemed alright to us so we drove off after another driver a few metres away mentioned to be careful as there are car robberies taking place in this area sometimes. We drove along the ap7 towards Barcelona when a message in our car said to check the tyre pressure. We very quickly became suspicious and the same driver that unknown to us was following us suddenly overtook us and was flashing his lights and making frantic signs to pull over. We became very frightened and kept on driving and headed to the nearest exit. The car followed us. We made signs to him that we were not going to stop and made sure he saw us making a telephone call. He then drove off. Shortly after, we stopped and called for assistance. Our tyre was completely flat by this time. We discovered it had been stabbed 3 times. We also learnt that we were about to be robbed and that is how they target tourist cars. We were very lucky but were left with a lot of frustration and an expensive bill from the local Mercedes garage. We have been driving down this motorway for many years and this is the first time we have experience this situation. We tend to stop in Toll areas which are safer. Our advise is to NEVER STOP IN SERVICE AREAS OUTSIDE TOLL ROADS AND IF YOU HAVE TO, THEN REMAIN BY YOUR CAR. IF YOU DISCOVER YOU HAVE A PUNCTURE AFTER HAVING STOPPED AT A SERVICE AREA DO NOT STOP IF A CAR THAT IS FOLLOWING YOU IS SIGNING YOU TO STOP. CONTINUE UNTIL YOU GET TO A PETROL STATION OR SEE A POLICE CAR. DIAL 112 EMERGENCY SERVICES. 
-- Sophie L Jun 26, 2014 5:23 PM

choose always a relible one. there are lots of thevies at this tym who can make you fool

** EDITED - Against forum rules **

The simple way of reducing risk is take an alternative route. I never use the coastal motorway both because of the crime risk and the toll cost. There are many alternatives just google Via Michelin it will give you some.

Is anyone taking a note of car number plates and/or discretely taking a photo of them via a phone to provide/forward to the police (and family or friends if reqd for that matter!) if they attempted to follow you? What are the police doing about this to deter more occurences?

Talk of crime risk, avoidance strategies, etc doesn't exactly inspire confidence,although I appreciate it's well intended advice.......what's needed is surely a concerted proactive approach to stamp this out by locals, service area staff, tourists,police, alike.

I frequently hire cars from the hire companies at the airport the first thing I do is TAKE THE BIG STICKER OFF THE BACK WINDOW and put it back on the car when I return it.

Alternatively, you could not go through life worrying about things that probably won't happen.

When in UK,  do you not drive anywhere because there were over 2,000 false insurance crash claims last year? If going to the USA do you not hire a car because there were reports of hire cars being targeted in Florida? 

I drive regularly along these roads with no problems. I regularly see patrol cars and GC motorbikes going up and down and pulling into service stations. Far more than I've ever seen in UK where dozens of caravans have been stolen from service stations and cars get broken into on a regular basis. The police, in any country, can't be everywhere.

Of course, be careful, don't leave things on view, don't leave your doors unlocked. Good advice in any country. But keep calm and don't constantly worry. Early graves beckon if you do.

The diffrence is in Spain the motorway police are fairly useless. Elsewhere there is a more professional intelligent police service.

The police in Spain are much more interested in extracting money from the motorist, especially foreigners than catching criminals. They simply are not interested.

There are a few instances that we have learned of first-hand from family and friends which tend to make me think that these instances are sadly not so few and far between as some would lead us to believe. 

Perhaps "worrying about things that probably won't happen" is a little dismissive...... if these instances are rarely recorded  by the Police or locals are turning a blind eye to concerns of this nature, then surely this sends the wrong message to those intent on crime who probably view it as a continuing supply for easy pickings? Where's the disincentive?

I think you're probably right Ads.  I've only driven through France once and I had a double puncture a few miles after stopping at a service station.  I thought nothing of it at the time - it was 15 years ago, before I'd heard of these would be Dick Turpin's - but after the event I was told by the company transport manager that the car with it's GB sticker was probably targetted and the only reason that nothing happened was that I had my two sons with me - all 3 of us are well over 6 foot.

We traveled from Santander to Nerja last November which we have done for the last three years. We altered our route to travel through Madrid instead of the M50. There was a serious accident so we were held up in traffic for quite sometime. Eventually when the traffic was going nowhere we needed food and toilet break. We saw a MacDonald's sign so pulled into the carpark it was huge we wondered why only one car in there but the lorry park above it was very full.We both went into order the food another car arrived and parked next to ours so close we would not have been able to open the doors. I ran outside as I suspected something was not quite right and our Labrador was asleep in the boot area.Two eastern European males emerged from the car with a woman I  got the dog out she asked me his name in Spanish I pretended not to understand. They then used their mobile to ring someone in the nearby petrol station we saw them waving to someone another woman appeared by this time my husband came out with the food the two men hung around the car we ate our awful food in the car the woman spoke to us in Spanish

 trying to distract us we acted numb. We will not travel through Madrid again they followed us from the parking area but as the traffic was still only moving slowly they were stuck well behind us. We were a bit afraid but just continued our journey. This year we will give Madrid a wide berth.

This message was last edited by poniente5 on 15/07/2014.

This message was last edited by poniente5 on 15/07/2014.

Yet I've travelled to and through Madrid on at least five occasions, a couple of times in a Brit reg car. Like mariedave, also on the coast roads/motorways between Cartagena - Valencia - Barcelona several times. I've also beent to Rome with the gypsies crowding you by the tourist attractions. If you're going to miss going through these places because something might happen the you might as well stay at home and not go out at all. We had a marvellous time in Washington DC about 10 years ago and there wer 13 murders within a mile of the Capitol that very same weekend.

I am not going to plan routes to avoid what might be a dodgy highway. I am not going to go around worrying about what might, or might not, happen. I will be careful, lock doors, keep my money in a secure pocket, hold tight ,to my camera and keep valuables in the hotel safe. I will not stop going to places because of crooks until it gets so bad that we all need personal bodyguards in which case it will be time to throw up our hands and say surrender. Likewise, I will not stop travelling on planes on the off chance it will be blown up or crash. 

If you really want to live your lives like that then carry on. I will join mariedave on her death defying drive in the slow lane up the AP7 to somewhere.

Nobody's right or wrong, it's personal choice.  I probably agree more with the "do what I want" faction, but it's not a bad thing that these matters are better publicised.

I couldn't believe what I thought were double punctures when it happened to me - the inconvenience was horrendous as having just one spare tyre was no help at all.

But if it happened again I would be ready for the little b*ggers!

Having been an Insurance broker for over 40 years I can confirm that these incidents happen very regularly but it is usually the less experienced traveller that gets robbed. Stay on your guard if your car is British registered and if you book en route accommodation make sure they have secure parking. If you arrive by ferry do not go to the first petrol station to fill up more claims arise at this time the old ,you have a flat, scheme. Always ensure one person is in the car should you take a toilet break or walk the dog. We will not stop travelling to our second home in Spain but hunger and the call for a loo will not take our guard down as last year.

poniente5, bobaol, mariedav

Excellent advice

But to all those thinking about driving down either all the way or via ferry don't be put off, It's a great expierence. We have done it on 4 occsions over the last six years and have never encountered a problem. Just be mindfull of what's going on around you as surely you would at home.At this time of year you are just as likely to have oppertunists at any port, service station and high volume tourist area anywhere in the world!

And in the interim, those intent on crime continue to recoup their illgotten gains and bullying tactics, happy in the thought that they will not be targeted by locals/police, whoever, whilst insurance claims continue to escalate, Funny old world isn't it?

Actually statistically you risk little chance of an attack but the risk still does exist. You can reduce that statistical risk by taking certain precautions.

In normal life we spend our lives avoiding risk, mostly unconsciously so why not on the roads in Europe?

Never stop anywhere without people activity if you can avoid it. Prepare for that. If you really have to, leave a passenger in the locked vehicle.

Avoid the crime hotspots. The AP7 is bad especially around cities. Take alternative routes.

Get a dash board web cam app they are great as evidential value and hated by crooks and cops alike.

Drive through the night if you can, it's cooler anyway. Crooks do operate in the night around camper vans on service areas. So don't park up to sleep, stay in a hotel.

Defend yourself if the worst happens; Carry a baseball bat in the car. Watch the crooks run for it. They don’t want confrontation just your money. It's very satisfying if you can wack them.

During thirty years of travelling around Europe I have been attacked three times and each time I fought back. Twice on the AP7 and once near Zagreb. If the crooks think you’re a soft target give ‘em a surprise. Defending yourself is a primeval instinctive right and you know surprisingly they never complain!

This is all reverse psychology.....where is community pride in tackling crime and protecting "innocents"?

Why should proactivity as described below on the part of innocents (some of which parallels the aggression demonstrated by criminals) be necessary, when elimination of crime via an effective police force supported by locals' willingness to report suspicious behaviour etc act as a far more civilised solution?

Without disincentives in place together with a community spirit to deter criminal behaviour won't these instances only increase?

If this only impacts tourists I hope this doesn't imply that locals/Police have little concern for visitors to their shores..... especially when tourism plays such a significant part in Spain's economic well being.

I agree with you ads in perfect world and in a country that has effective law enforcement, proactive action becomes unnecessary. However in many countries including Spain it’s actually the ‘wild west’ in enforcement terms and criminals operate with impunity.

The sad thing is most of these criminals are foreigners from elsewhere. Countries with extreme poverty such as Romania and Morocco. They are not Spanish. So it’s blue on blue crime in a sense. Spain has not invested historically in law enforcement over the last 40 years, largely because of its murky past during the Franco epoch. Excessive liberalism was demanded by the people in reaction to the changing times.

The result is widespread criminal activity barely contained by the system and a place increasingly attractive to crooks of every hew.