{"id":360192,"date":"2025-08-20T19:31:14","date_gmt":"2025-08-20T19:31:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/360192\/"},"modified":"2025-08-20T19:31:14","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T19:31:14","slug":"uk-drivers-in-spain-face-173-fine-under-little-known-rule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/360192\/","title":{"rendered":"UK drivers in Spain face \u00a3173 fine under little-known rule"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Motorists travelling in the European country have been warned of the fine they can face if they&#8217;re stuck at the roadside<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0_Old-man-driving-a-car.jpg\" alt=\"Motorists travelling in the European country have been warned of the fine\" loading=\"eager\"  \/>Motorists travelling in the European country have been warned of the fine(Image: Getty Images\/iStockphoto)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Brits driving while on holiday in Spain have been warned of a potential \u00a3173 fine.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">The Guardia Civil is cracking down on <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.birminghammail.co.uk\/motoring\/\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">drivers <\/a>breaking the law, and it is looking at one thing in particular, <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.express.co.uk\/travel\/articles\/2097994\/uk-drivers-spain-173-fine\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">reports Express.co.uk.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Spanish law requires motorists to have the means to continue to <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.birminghammail.co.uk\/motoring\/\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">drive <\/a>after getting a puncture.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \"><strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">READ MORE: <\/strong><a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.birminghammail.co.uk\/motoring\/drivers-told-dont-leave-common-32251728\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">Drivers told don&#8217;t leave common item in car before Wednesday<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \"><strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">Get breaking news on <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/chat.whatsapp.com\/FJKVhwxllixI0DiCj9e2sk\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"[object Object]Link opens in a new tab.\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">BirminghamLive WhatsApp<\/a>, click the link to join<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">That means cars need to have one of the following: a spare tyre, the tools to put it on, and signalling equipment; a temporary spare wheel for a short drive to a garage, tools, and signalling equipment; or a puncture repair kit.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">If any of the items needed for each choice is missing, such as having a spare tyre but not tools or an expired puncture kit, this will be treated as non-compliance and the <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.birminghammail.co.uk\/motoring\/\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">driver <\/a>will be fined.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">The Guardia Civil is reportedly checking boots to ensure that <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.birminghammail.co.uk\/motoring\/\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">cars <\/a>have one of the means to drive after a puncture.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">These new crackdowns are not only to ensure compliance with the law but also to reduce crashes caused by <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.birminghammail.co.uk\/motoring\/\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">cars <\/a>being pulled over to the side of the road.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Brits driving in Spain are urged to check their boot for one of the three options and ensure everything is present, in date, and in good working order.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">They should also inspect their tyres.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">They must not be worn below 1.6 mm, show cracks or bulges, or be mixed types on the same axle.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Each defective tyre can also lead to fines of up to \u00a3173.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Tourists could also face fines for smoking. Smoking and vaping are now banned on many beaches across Spain, with those caught breaking the rules facing fines up to \u00a31,726.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">In some areas in Spain, it is also illegal to walk around in just a swimsuit.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">You could be fined if you\u2019re caught wearing swimwear on the seafront promenade or adjacent streets<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Since December, Spanish hotels, holiday apartments, and car rental companies have been forced to collect a large amount of personal information from tourists.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Failure to comply with the new rules will see businesses handed fines of \u00a324,800.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Motorists travelling in the European country have been warned of the fine they can face if they&#8217;re stuck&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":360193,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5312],"tags":[2000,299,1230,104],"class_list":{"0":"post-360192","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-spain","8":"tag-eu","9":"tag-europe","10":"tag-motoring","11":"tag-spain"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115062760073555927","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/360192","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=360192"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/360192\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/360193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=360192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=360192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=360192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}