The Offence of Reckless Driving in Spain (Art. 380 CP) (2026)

Article 380 of the Spanish Criminal Code punishes reckless driving: driving that puts the life or integrity of people in concrete danger. As criminal lawyers specialising in road safety, we explain its regime.

What Article 380 Says

This offence is committed by anyone who drives a motor vehicle with manifest recklessness and puts the life or integrity of people in concrete danger. Penalty: prison of 6 months to 2 years and disqualification from driving for 1 to 6 years.

What "Manifest Recklessness" Is

Manifest recklessness is driving that departs seriously and obviously from the standard of care: gravely dangerous manoeuvres, driving into oncoming traffic, extreme speeds in risk areas. The offence also requires a concrete danger: that people were actually exposed to the risk.

When Recklessness Is Presumed

Article 380.2 provides that driving is deemed manifestly reckless where, at the same time, punishable speeding and driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs at criminally relevant levels concur.

Defence Strategies

1. No concrete danger: there were no people exposed to a real risk.
2. Reclassification as an administrative infringement: the driving was careless but did not reach manifest recklessness.
3. Challenging the measurements of speed, alcohol or drugs.
4. Mitigating factors and the circumstances of the specific case.