Tips for safe driving an english car in spain
On one level, the safety of driving in Spain is not dependant on the car, but when the steering wheel is on the wrong side there are two distinct disadvantages that do impact the safety of driving in Spain and you should be aware of both of them. Of the two the most serious disadvantage is overtaking.
The U.K. drives on the left and Spain on the right, Spanish cars have the
Driver sitting on the left and the U.K. driver sits on the right. This means that the driver has uses the maximum potential to be aware of what is happening on the road. Driving an English car in Spain puts you at a disadvantage, as you cannot see through the car in front to overtake. The Spanish driver with the steering wheel on the left can pull out slightly to see in front of the oncoming vehicle. As a driver sitting on the right, you have less potential to see in front of the oncoming car and cannot manoeuvre yourself in position to improve that. A passenger does help - as they can crane their neck or put their head out of the window! Driving in Spain is safer without having to rely on the judgement of a passenger!
At night the dipped headlights dip are set at a different angle in Europe and this has two effects you cannot see as effectively as a Spaniard does because your headlight is shining on a higher angle than the camber of the road; you are also dazzling the eyes of the driver in the oncoming traffic. The angle of the headlights in a dipped direction cannot be adjusted without taking out the headlight units and replacing them with European units. In the past motoring organisations such as the AA and RAC issued you with a coloured strip, a dark piece of tape, with a map to stick over your part of the headlight to correct the problem, but that practise is now illegal in Europe.
Major road junctions in Spain turn left at the areas marked “cambio de sentido” which literally means change of senses. It is not a disadvantage driving a U.K. car as there are no visual blind spots, but it does mean that you must wait for a designated slip road and it can add miles to a journey.
The first two points are the only real safety issues with a British vehicle, but there are other issues with a foreign plated vehicle. Many drivers believe that there is no limit for alcohol in Spain; in fact it is half the limit in the U.K and Spanish police can stop you without a reason for an on the spot breathalyser. Spain now has a system of “rapid justice courts” which means the police can apply traffic fines immediately, and these include losing your licence, and being detained in a police cell until the fine is paid.
Whilst putting the driver in jail is a little extreme it does happen, what has happened in reality is that the police can use the powers as a local fund raising activity and they are not above targeting foreign drivers. A very real danger is that it is illegal to enter a tunnel in Spain without full headlights; all tunnels should have a traffic sign to that effect at the entrance. Spanish police often wait just outside of the tunnel to impose a fine and they do target foreign plated cars.
Another point often missed by drivers in Spain it is illegal to use a mobile phone inside and outside of the car. If you need to use a phone out of the car you must drive the car off the road away from traffic. Whilst you can use a mobile phone in a car, it is illegal to use earphones both for music and the phone, the only earpieces allowed legally are deaf aids.
Below are the speed limits for the roads In Spain
Autopista (motorway) prefix to road number A or E
These can be toll roads or peajes.
Maximum speed 120 kph (73 mph).
Autovia
Dual carriageway, with or without a central reservation.
Speed limits vary from 80 to 140 kph and they are marked on the stretch of the road on which you are travelling.
By Bill Hanning
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