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When it comes to compliance with Spain's traffic regulations, Malaga province usually comes out badly in the comparison. Although there is some good news, most of the indicators are once again negative, which means that penalties continue to increase. Moreover, according to the latest figures, Malaga is bucking the national trend, which is for a general drop in traffic offences being committed, while in this province they are increasing considerably.
This is the highlight drawn from the data in the latest report by the Directorate-General for Traffic (DGT), which has been analysed by the national motoring association, Automovilistas Europeos Asociados (AEA). These data correspond to the year 2023, the last full year of statistics. First of all, the first thing that stands out is that drivers in Malaga behave in the opposite way to the Spanish average. Nationally, the Guardia Civil police issued a total of 5.2 million fines on the Spanish roads that fall under its jurisdiction for the DGT, which represents a drop of 6.7%. In Malaga, on the other hand, there were almost 344,100, a rise of almost 5.5%.
In terms of the most common offence, there is one category that leads the ranking by a wide margin: speeding, which accounts for three out of every four fines. To be exact, the almost 266,000 fines issued for this reason account for 77.3% of the total number of traffic offences. Those issued by static speed cameras stand out most of all (up 6.5%), although there was also an increase in those issued by mobile radars (up 3.9%).
Although its specific proportion in the statistics is not significant, the offence that has grown by far the most in Malaga is driving under the influence of drugs. In the last year there were 1,206 positive readings, making that a 68% increase. Paradoxically, at the same time, the number of drink-driving offences has fallen, which is one of the best pieces of news in this statistical review: the 3,364 cases recorded have meant a decrease of 8.8%. In contrast, there was a sharp rise in the number of vehicles found to have an expired ITV vehicle roadworthiness test certificate (over 29,000, up 11%) and also drivers who drove a vehicle while their licence was suspended (up 13%).
This detailed review of traffic fines in Spain in 2023 prepared by AEA highlights the positive outcomes for motoring offences at a national level, which contrasts with the situation in Malaga. According to the latest figures, the DGT issued slightly more than 5.2 million fines on Spanish roads under its jurisdiction, a decrease of 6.7% compared to the previous year.
In addition, the collection of fines also dropped from 507.4 to 501.4 million euros over that year. However, in this case, AEA expressed regret that the total still exceeds 500 million euros per year. Until 2021 this threshold had never been reached, although the trend has been one of an almost continuous rise in the totals for almost a decade.
Speeding continues to lead the list of penalties imposed by the DGT with 3,355,287 fines issued, and speeding features in 2 out of every 3 traffic offences, although such infringements have decreased by 9.5%. That is followed by offences for not having passed the ITV (637,520), for driving without a licence (134,547), for not wearing a seatbelt (100,739) and for using a mobile phone (92,912), which is up 5.3%. On a positive note, the AEA highlights in its report the 14% reduction in penalties for not wearing a crash helmet or seatbelt (-5%).
On the positive side, there is also an increase in public awareness of safety devices and, as a result, the number of motorcyclists not wearing a helmet has fallen to an almost residual level (323, 16% less). Also, the number of those who do not wear their seatbelts has also fallen (10% less). Keeping on this same point, it is concerning that, despite continuous public awareness campaigns, the Guardia Civil still issues 3,600 fines in Malaga province each year for lack of a seatbelt. Another positive statistic is the use of mobile phones when driving being down by 5%, although that still means more than 5,000 cases.
The subdelegation for central government in Malaga has declined SUR's offer to comment on this data at DGT's headquarters in the city. However, Mario Arnaldo as AEA president has done so. First of all, Arnaldo draws attention to the fact that at national level there has been a general reduction in fines, "while Malaga is one of the few provinces where fines have increased."
The main reason is that this is also one of the provinces with the highest number of speed camera fines, with fines from both fixed and mobile speed cameras on the rise. "Nor does this follow the general trend in the country, where speeding fines are also falling." In this respect, the motoring expert reminds us that the province has several of the "most frequently fining" speed cameras in the country, although their geographical distribution has changed: "The locations are different from the previous year; the new control points have resulted in a lot of complaints."
However, regarding the sharp increase in drug-related motoring offences, Mario Arnaldo justifies it on the fact that, in the last known year, there were many more controls: "Consumption is worrying, but the increase in the statistics has been spectacular because the previous year there were not so many checks due to a lack of budget."
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