MOTORING IN SPAIN

Emails I have received recently show that some drivers are not aware that, for various towing combinations or larger vehicles with more than 16 seats, etc, you need different classifications of a driving licence. Thus we could see someone with a 4x4 car illegally towing a horsebox without the correct driving licence (DL). The classifications are fairly simple but need studying to understand them and they are listed in detail in the book. Please make sure that you are legal when you buy a trailer that is over specified weight limits, especially for weight and power of the towing vehicle for if you are stopped at the roadside because not only will you be charged for driving without a DL but also no insurance, lose penalty points and you will have to have the vehicles moved by someone who has the correct DLs – Or a GRUA:. The EU has been discussing having driving tests for those who may have a B-license but wish to tow a heavier trailer, to prove their competence. Remember that such decisions are made based on the causes of actual accidents.

As far as vehicle exhaust pollution is concerned, diesel engines have different types of pollutants to petrol-engined ones, and one of the pollutants is caused by small particles of hot carbon emitting from a diesel exhaust. To overcome this problem, for some time now and current on all new diesel vehicles, in the exhaust system there is now by EU law a “particle filter” fitted, hereafter called the PF. The exhaust gases flow through this filter "forced" by the engine and any particles or small pieces or carbon are trapped inside to be cleaned out later as explained in a minute. For those with the knowledge, filters of any kind eventually start to get blocked up when the rubbish they are designed to trap in them slows or even stops the flow of gases or liquids through them, and, in the case of the exhaust, this causes a gas pressure increase before the filter. When the pressure reaches or exceeds a designed amount, a pressure sensor in the exhaust switches on an indicator light on the vehicle instrument-board and if ignored, the driver will soon have the feeling that the engine is losing power, which it is becuse the gases cannot escape out of the exhaust fast enough. (I can remember an old trick we played where a potato was forced up an exhaust of a car when we were kids. The engine would start and after a few seconds with te driver trying to keep the engine running by revving it, the engine would either stop or the potato would shoot out of the exhaust with a loud bang.

We were naughty but we still called policemen "sir or miss", and did not stab or kick people to death in the streets.

OK, the driver ignores the light on the dash and then gradually the engine loses power. Check the vehicle operator manual to see how to clean the filter as there are two ways that I know of. We are about to take delivery of a new Focus so I will know the Ford way soon.

If your vehicle's manual is in Spanish and you do speak or understand it, try and get one in English. Some systems use some fuel to burn out and clean the PF; some tell you to drive in a low gear for a while to force the hotter gasses to clear the PF, so if your car has been bought since about 2005/2006 and has problems with losing power, I suggest that you look on the dash at the red, wavy light (or as in illustrated in the manual) and read the handbook.

THERE HAS BEEN A 22% reduction in AccidentS on the Spanish roads since July 2006.

In the last two years the rates have fallen by 22%. As Chris Tarrant would say “Well done, everybody.”

Trafico is pleased but as we all should be, is anxious to continue the trend. The penalty points system is one reason offered as well as good policing to catch those who flagrantly break the laws. I ask this question here, is there anyone out there who gets upset when I say that? There are those amongst us who think that common-sense laws are there to be broken and hate anyone who thinks otherwise. I am not a saint, especially where sensible fast speeds in safe places on the open road is concerned but as far as drinking and driving, speeding in residential and urban areas, using a mobile held to an ear while driving and so on, are concerned, it makes me mad to see such stupidity.

My book has several pages on the ways you can lose points and how to appeal the loss as well as how to regain your licence. Please remember that if, as a resident you have a foreign EU driving licence, you can still lose it if you are charged with committing a serious offence on the roads by the officer concerned confiscating it until the Court case which would follow very quickly in this instance. For example, driving drunk, causing an accident by dangerous driving, travelling at 50% plus over the speed limit and so on. They are all listed in the book.

Please remember that you can see how many points you have lost in the Trafico web-site at www.dgt.es. You will need a password to access the information so only those authorised can see the information. A Certificado de Usario, which can be used for many other government systems, will also do it. How to obtain one free of charge via the Internet is on pages 246 to 249 in the book.

Well not really, not in the old state it was before where a specified sum of cash, about €480, was paid to car owners who scrapped a vehicle of more than ten tears of age to buy a new one to encourage the removal of the older, polluting cars from Spain’s roads.

The newly approved system, which is called PLAN VIVE, will be similar but the payment will now be based on the exhaust pollution factor of the vehicle being scrapped as long as it is 15 plus years old and if the new vehicle replacing it it is in the under 120 Gr/Km group, then the new owner will be paid via lower interest rates on credit financing for the purchase, and proportionately for the other groups. And I read that the UK is thinking of adopting this system.

It would surely go against the UK Labour government's principles to pay out to motorists instead of just collecting as much cash as possible.

Plan VIVE is an acronym for Vehiculo Inovador - Vehiculo Ecologica. This means loosely translated;

The way the new system works is that assistance will be given to those who are buying a new car with a low pollution factor on credit, which most people do, and it is done by having no interest payable on sums up to €20.000 purchase price, and then after that, the interest will be based on the Euribor rate currently 2, 5%. The period of any qualifying loans will be not more than five years. The catch is that the car being replaced must:

The government states that the plan will affect up to 240.000 cars currently registered in Spain and is expected to inject 1.200 millions of Euros into the economy, that is if all take advantage of the offer.

The intention is to get rid of as many old polluting cars as possible as well as stimulating the car manufacturing industries remembering that jobs are generated as well as taxes collected. I personally find it stimulating that the Spanish government employs the tactics of encouragement and assistance unlike "other governments" that just increase all taxes on the vehicles they want off the roads.

The main car dealers will be able to advise actual individual prices and deals on any planned new vehicle purchases, but remember that the old polluting one must be scrapped.

As an aside, we have to admit that the Spanish do many things far better than us British do in the UK as far as government is concerned. A good example is the daily collection of rubbish, even furniture, all for free as long as you have paid your local taxes which again are very reasonable compared with many of the UK council's rates, and the only minor thing is that you have to walk and take the rubbish to the local collection points. I have not heard of any pensioners being jailed here for not paying their IBI tax to the council; rather a plan is made where assistance is given to them.

I am still receiving emails and phone calls (on my mobile) from RESIDENT expats who have either been stopped by the police, or now more likely are being told by their insurance brokers or friends in the bar that they do not need to have such things as medicals in Spain. The duty of anyone who is in business here (or anywhere) especially selling motoring products to the public such as insurance or even legal services is to at least know your job. Some readers are still being told that they do not need to have medicals as an expat resident driver in Spain. I suggest that they are directed to my web site where a copy of the Ministerio del Interior’s letter dated the 3 December 2004 and sent to all concerned (this copy was sent to the British Consul in Malaga) where it clearly states that EU citizens living (resident) in Spain may use their foreign current DLs in Spain as long as they have the same medicals as the Spanish drivers have to. In fact this law is due to an EU Directive that applies to everywhere in the EU, not just Spain and it also states that such expats must obey the same laws as do Spanish drivers.

The letter can be read and printed out from my web-site at: (Click) www.spainvia.com/drivelicenceletterADSL.htm. So the next time your insurance broker, etc. states that you do not have to have medicals as an expat resident here, show him, or her the copy of the official letter (it is in Spanish) with Para 3 being the specific medical reference. If you do not obey this law, regardless of the date of expiry on your DL, it will legally be deemed to have expired especially if you are in Court after an accident etc. Then give whoever does not know their job them a piece of your mind for giving you bad advice. It will also save me time and the need to keep advising the same statements over and over again. It is also in my book, Third Edition for those who are not competent in Spanish. It is planned that in 2013, the newly issued DLs will be EU wide so that eventually, the date is said to be 2032, all drivers will have the same DLs as if issued from one point and then be able to have their details checked at the roadside regardless of which country their DL was issued in and where they are stopped. Sorry to go on but if I had 100 for every mail and phone call on this subject I could retire.

The local English Press recently reported that the UK police have been over here and with the cooperation of the Guardia Civil, identified many caravans that had been stolen in the UK. The statement was made that as many as one in four such caravans here have been stolen. Now as we all know (?), UK caravans do not have to have their own registration plates as in Spain (if here they have a MAM of 751 plus Kg) and the only way to identify them is by the makers small serial number plates affixed somewhere, or stamped on the chassis. So if you are offered a caravan here and the price looks good do yourself a good turn and check the serial number with the manufacturer and the DVLA and especially check the paperwork such as the original invoice that the seller should have. One-in-Four odds are not good for a potential buyer. If it is already on Spanish plates then you are probably going to be OK, but do not bet on it as it would be heart-breaking to have it confiscated by the authorities as stolen goods. With the new laws about caravans, both towed and auto caravans having to be parked in official camping sites or legally on private land (not public so that includes supermarket car parks etc) the checking is going to be much easier now. Good for the owners, bad for the thieves.

Summer is here as I write this and the mad drivers are in abundance (why do so many now drive black cars?), especially at week ends. It is not just the speeding and driving too close behind, it is the “happy wandering” that looks as though they are happy with alcohol (or drugs). Fortunately they are in the minority but an accident; even if you have full insurance is going to cost you money, time and especially stress. Who needs it? So October is not far off when we can all relax a bit more out there. Be safe, watch out for the crooks, and remember that they can smile also to set you at ease just before they rob you.