Spain in hot pursuit of UK tourists for speeding fines

SPEEDING British tourists face arriving home to fines in their letterbox under a post-brexit deal with Spain.

The Spanish government is demanding Britain hands over access to its vehicle owner database so it can chase up holidaymakers with fines once they depart.

Negotiations have accelerated after Madrid last week refused to extend interim rules allowing British longterm residents of Spain to drive in the country with their UK licences, leaving thousands of people in rural parts of the country stranded.

Spanish and British officials have said that the two countries are moving towards an agreement that will allow British residents who have been in Spain for longer than six months to drive legally by swapping their British driving licence for a Spanish one.

This represents a return to the system in place before Brexit. However, many British residents failed to make the swap in time or have moved to Spain in the last 18 months.

“We never wanted to upset British residents, and the plan is that once they have been able to apply for the swap, hopefully in a few weeks, they can start driving again while the application is processed,” said María José Aparicio of Spain’s DGT driver and vehicle licensing authority.

But Ms Aparacio said Madrid has tired of “the UK dragging its feet” on the key Spanish demand that an automated system of driver data exchange be set up to allow for fines to be delivered effectively to Uk-based drivers who commit road offences in Spain. “This situation was provoked by Britain leaving the EU so we expect a bit more of an effort to reach a deal,” she said.

UK government sources said no other EU country had asked for Uk-registered vehicle data to deliver fines automatically, and this information can already be requested on a case-by-case basis.

Some British residents have already been fined this week for driving illegally in Spain with their UK licences, while others have to use taxis to travel to work.

Steven Rees, a Londoner who retired to Spain in late 2020, said he and his partner are stuck in the home they are renovating in Benejúzar, Alicante province.

“We’ve lost our freedom,” he said. Mr Rees said he felt unwelcome in Spain because of the demand to change to a Spanish driving licence when some other EU countries such as France have accepted the UK permit as valid.