New devices on Spain's roads can detect vehicles without an up-to-date ITV certificate or insurance

People who fail to comply with the law will be fined if they are caught by the cameras, 60% of which are on secondary roads

Monday, 28 March 2022, 13:54 | Updated 16:26h.

Big Brother is watching you – or at least, checking whether your vehicle has an up-to-date ITV technical vehicle inspection certificate. In 2021, more owners failed to take their vehicle for this obligatory test of roadworthiness than ever before: 40 per cent, according to figures from the Traffic Department. That’s four out of every ten, a remarkably high proportion.

The fines for not having an up-to-date ITV seem high enough to make anyone think twice about not complying with the law, even if they are not worried about whether or not their vehicle is roadworthy. It can be between 200 and 500 euros, and the car doesn’t even have to be driven. Fines can be issued for vehicles which are parked, if their ITV is out of date.

Now, however, the DGT is determined to put a stop to this and it has new methods of doing so. Apart from the risk of being caught in a simple spot check by the Guardia Civil, there are now cameras which can detect whether or not a moving vehicle has an ITV.

These devices can read the number plate of a vehicle and compare it with the DGT’s data to see whether it is registered as having passed its ITV. It means nobody has to ask drivers to stop and produce their documentation. When the cars pass the radars, they can cross-check the ITV situation and also see whether they have insurance. If either are not in order, a fine will be issued.

The DGT now has 225 of these new cameras in different places in Spain, so it’s hard to avoid being caught. About 60% of them are on secondary roads.

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