TRAFICO OFFICES ADDRESSES AND OPEN TIMES. 4
Sept. 05
The Trafico web site, like the
excellent DLVA site in the UK, has a wealth of information: all in Spanish
of course, but even if you do not speak Spanish, with a dictionary you can
work out what you need to know for many needs.
For example, the addresses,
phone numbers and open times for all the Traficos in Spain may be located at
this web address.
http://www.dgt.es/tramites/donde_realizar/donde.htm
You will
see a map of Spain. Just click on the Province where you need to know
the address.
As noted
on each address, the cash desks for just about all the Traficos close some
30 minutes before the office does, so if you are late arriving, you could
have a wasted journey
______________________________________________________________________
INTERNATIONAL
DRIVING LICENCES FOR SPANISH LICENCE HOLDERS.
5 Sept. 05
For those
who intend to drive outside of the EU, and have a Spanish driving licence,
it is an easy matter to get the needed International Driving Licence one
from Trafico. And it is relatively cheap; only €8,60.
Take all your documents to Trafico, complete the TASA form 2.3, "Conduccion
Diverso" which can be downloaded from the Trafico web site, and join the
queues. You must write under the heading "Motivo", "Permiso
Internacional de Conduccion".
You will
need: -
-
A good photocopy of your residencia or NIE.
-
A good photocopy of your Spanish Driving
Licence - permiso de conduccion.
-
Two colour passport photographs the same
size as your driving licence ones (plain white backgrounds). Get film
ones: not printed on a computer inkjet.
-
Post-office giro cheque for Eur 8,60
-
An SAE for the return to you of the IDL.
Readers
Brian & Jean Simpson sent me this information having just done it at the
Alicante Trafico, although they reported a total of two hours waiting.
As noted last month, if you are going in your vehicle, do not forget that
you will also need a standard (old type) white sticker with "E" on it as the
country identification on the EU number plate is not valid in most
non-EU countries.
There is
a lot of general information on IDLs in this web site. (Click)
IDLs
Thanks to
Brian & Jean Simpson.
________________________________________________________
Spain to Force Car parks to implement fair charges.
12 Sept. '05.
The
practice by owners of car parks, and also mobile phone companies, of
"rounding up" charges is being targeted by the government with a new Law to
be introduced in the Spanish parliament. For example, most car parks
charge for an hour or part of an hour, so someone who parks for 1 hour and
one minute, ends up paying for two hours. The Spanish government
estimates that this costs the consumers perhaps a billion Euros extra per
year, and has the side effect that owners are hesitant to use the car parks
for short stays.
__________________________________________________________
Lost your UK Licence? 26 Sep
2005, updated 12 Nov. 2005
I have made the
acquaintance of a lot of nice people since I wrote the book, Motoring in
Spain. Many have written to advise me of their problems which are unusual
or simply because, as I pass on here, after being told by Mrs. M. Pritchard
(sorry, no first name given) what to do if, as a resident here where Spain
is your principal place of residence (183 days plus a year), you lose your
UK driving licence and you have no certified copy. It has
been updated by Judi Robertson in November 2005 with the following info
based on her experience.
Contact the DVLA in
Swansea, and ask for a
Form/certificate D737,
which is a certificate showing all the relevant details of your current
driving licence. As you cannot then get a new UK driving licence
from the DVLA because
they cannot put a Spanish address on it, you can use the supplied certificate to
change it for a Spanish licence which is legal anywhere in the EU, and in
the world with an International Driving Licence.
The phone number is (0044) 870 240
0009.
The web site is
www.dvla.gov.uk