Spanish traffic enforcement against driving distractions

During a special surveillance and control campaign conducted between October 5 and October 11, Spanish authorities issued numerous citations for driving distractions.

In Mérida, local police inspected 1,234 vehicles, issuing 52 citations. Of these, 29 were related to distractions, including 19 drivers penalized for mobile phone use. During this period, 12 accidents involving only material damage were recorded in the city.

On a national level, the Guardia Civil and the Directorate General of Traffic (DGT) reported a large-scale enforcement effort, inspecting 422,927 vehicles and issuing 9,245 citations for various distractions. Mobile phone misuse was the most frequent violation, accounting for 42.3% of total citations with 3,816 drivers fined for holding a phone while driving; such offenses can result in the loss of six points from a driver’s license.

Other significant infractions identified during the week included the use of headphones or headsets (441 fines), improper seatbelt use (421 fines), reading while driving (257 fines), and searching for objects (136 fines). The campaign also detected instances of driving while eating, smoking, or using navigation systems improperly. Regionally, in Cuenca, mobile phone misuse was also a predominant risk factor, representing over 30% of local traffic infractions during the same period. In León, authorities recorded 86 citations, while Cuenca recorded 88. The campaign also identified instances of driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs.