Road Safety Offences in Spain: Complete Legal Guide 2026
In this article
Key Takeaways
- 80,000 proceedings/year
- Breathalyser error margin
- VMPs fall outside Arts. 379-385 CP
- 48h fast-track trial
Road safety offences are set out in Articles 379 to 385 CP: drink-driving above 0.60 mg/l in exhaled air and drug-driving (Art. 379.2), excess speed of more than 60 km/h in urban areas or 80 km/h on inter-urban roads (Art. 379.1), reckless driving (Art. 380), kamikaze driving with manifest disregard for the lives of others (Art. 381), refusing the test (Art. 383) and driving without a licence (Art. 384). Most cases are handled as fast-track trials, and the defence is built on the technical evidence (calibration of the breathalyser, radar and drug test) and the safeguards of the procedure. You should never accept a plea agreement before a lawyer has reviewed the evidence.
Need help with your case? Talk to a criminal defense lawyer at Alonso Sala.
Road safety offences (Arts. 379-385 of the Spanish Criminal Code) are the most frequent offences in Spain's courts. Every year, more than 80,000 proceedings are brought for drink-driving, driving without a licence, excess speed and other criminal road infractions. As criminal lawyers specializing in road safety, this guide brings together everything you need to know to defend your rights.
1. Drink-Driving (Art. 379.2 CP)
Driving with a breath alcohol concentration above 0.60 mg/l (equivalent to 1.2 g/l in blood) is a criminal offence. Below that figure but above 0.25 mg/l, it is an administrative infraction.
Penalties: 3 to 6 months in prison or a fine of 6 to 12 months or 31 to 90 days of community service + withdrawal of the driving licence for 1 to 4 years.
Key defence: The margin of error of the breathalyser (5-7.5% depending on the model) can bring the reading below the criminal threshold. If you blew 0.64, applying the maximum permitted error could place the reading at 0.59 = administrative infraction, not a criminal offence. We also check the device's calibration date: if it has expired, the test can be challenged.
2. Drug-Driving (Art. 379.2 CP)
Driving under the influence of toxic drugs, narcotics or psychotropic substances is a criminal offence if it can be shown that the substance actually affected driving. A positive test alone is not enough: the Spanish Supreme Court requires actual influence to be proven.
Key defence: We challenge three elements: (1) the reliability of the saliva test (these saliva drug tests have documented false-positive rates), (2) the chain of custody of the sample, and (3) the correlation between a positive result and actual influence on driving.
3. Excess Speed (Art. 379.1 CP)
It is a criminal offence to exceed the urban speed limit by 60 km/h or the inter-urban speed limit by 80 km/h.
Key defence: Challenging the radar device: checking its type approval, current periodic verification and the application of the regulatory margin of error (Ministerial Order ICT/155/2020). A radar without verification within the previous 12 months produces inadmissible measurements.
4. Driving Without a Licence (Art. 384 CP)
It is a criminal offence to drive in three situations: (1) loss of validity due to total loss of points duly notified, (2) judicial withdrawal of the licence (final sentence), (3) never having obtained the licence.
Key defence: If the loss of points was not properly notified (for example, notification by public edict without prior attempts at personal service), there is no offence. We review the DGT (Directorate-General for Traffic) file exhaustively.
5. Reckless Driving (Art. 380 CP)
Driving with manifest disregard for the lives of others, putting the life or physical integrity of third parties in concrete danger. This includes illegal races, kamikaze driving and doing donuts/skidding on public roads.
Penalties: 1 to 4 years in prison (basic offence) or 2 to 5 years (kamikaze) + withdrawal of the licence for 6 months to 6 years + confiscation of the vehicle (Art. 385 bis CP).
6. Leaving the Scene of an Accident (Art. 382 bis CP)
Leaving the scene of an accident where there are victims is an offence introduced by Organic Law 2/2019. It punishes both the driver who caused the accident and anyone who, without having caused it, was involved in the accident and fled. More on this offence on our page on leaving the scene of an accident.
7. E-Scooters and Personal Mobility Vehicles (VMP)
The Road Safety Prosecutor takes the view that Personal Mobility Vehicles (VMP) — e-scooters, hoverboards — are not motor vehicles in the technical sense and therefore fall outside Arts. 379 to 385 CP. Riding a compliant VMP over the alcohol limit is an administrative infringement of the Traffic Act, not an offence. The position reverses where the machine exceeds the regulatory parameters of a VMP (design speed, power, a moped-style seat): it is then treated as a moped or motor vehicle and the road safety offences apply in full. Dangerous riding causing harm may in any event engage the general offences of reckless injury or reckless homicide. More information on our page on e-scooters and VMPs.
The Fast-Track Trial: The 48-Hour Trap
Most road offences (drink-driving, no licence) are processed via the fast-track trial (Arts. 795-803 of the Spanish Criminal Procedure Act, LECrim). The sequence is: arrest → summons within 48 hours → trial with an offer of a guilty plea. Never accept a plea agreement before a lawyer has reviewed the evidence. Technical review of the proceedings can reveal procedural defects that change the outcome of the case.
Have you been arrested for a road safety offence?
Every hour counts before the fast-track trial. Call us now so we can review the evidence before you accept a plea. Our science-based defence (breathalyser, radar, saliva test) is built on technical impugnation of the proceedings.
Contact us now: 91 078 65 74
Frequently asked questions
What articles regulate road safety offences?
Road offences are set out in Articles 379 to 385 CP: excess speed and drink- or drug-driving (Art. 379), reckless driving (Art. 380), kamikaze driving (Art. 381), refusing the test (Art. 383), driving without a licence (Art. 384) and creating serious danger on the road (Art. 385), together with failure to render assistance (Art. 195.3).
From what speed or blood alcohol level is it a criminal offence?
It is a criminal offence to drive more than 60 km/h over the limit in urban areas or 80 km/h over the limit on inter-urban roads (Art. 379.1 CP), and to do so with more than 0.60 mg/l of alcohol in exhaled air or under the proven influence of alcohol or drugs (Art. 379.2 CP). The penalty is 3 to 6 months in prison or a fine, plus withdrawal of the driving licence for 1 to 4 years.
Is it a criminal offence to refuse the breathalyser or drug test?
Yes. Refusing to submit to the legally established tests is a standalone offence of aggravated disobedience (Art. 383 CP), carrying 6 months to 1 year in prison. The offence requires a clear prior request and an express warning of the criminal consequences: without a formal warning, there is no offence.
Do road safety offences apply to e-scooters and VMPs?
The Traffic Safety Prosecutor's Office considers that VMPs (e-scooters, hoverboards), not being motor vehicles in the technical sense, fall outside Arts. 379-385 CP. Dangerous conduct on an e-scooter may amount to generic offences (reckless injury or homicide), but not the specific road safety offences. Electric cars remain fully subject to them.
What defence strategies exist for a road safety offence?
Common approaches include challenging the expert evidence (calibration of the breathalyser or radar, technical protocol, chain of custody), alleging breaches of the driver's rights, considering a guilty plea with a one-third sentence reduction in a fast-track trial, and requesting the substitution or suspension of the custodial sentence where appropriate.
Do you need criminal defense in this area?
We are criminal defense lawyers specializing in road safety offenses. We act urgently to protect your rights.