How to lose points and influence the loss of your driving licence!

Driving in Spain, on a Spanish driving licence, is both penalised and rewarded through a points-based system.

Drivers are given an allocation of points. If you´re a good and capable driver, your points allocation will increase (to a maximum of 15). Do something wrong, and, depending on the offence, you lose points. Lose them all, and you lose your licence. Albeit you can recover it.

There are numerous offences which will result in the loss of points, and points loss increases with the severity of the offence, and although this is in now way an exhaustive list, you might be interested in some of the most common causes for the loss of points, and therefore avoid doing them, if you’re tempted.

• Driving under the influence of drugs, psychotropics, stimulants and other substances with similar effects.
• Refusing to submit to a breathalyser test or drug screening.
• Driving in a reckless manner (endangering other drivers), driving in the opposite direction or engaging in unauthorised races.
• Exceeding the speed limit by more than 50% the maximum authorised limit and by at least 30 kilometres per hour.
• Using mechanisms or instruments that inhibit traffic monitoring or radar detection systems.
• Driving with a blood alcohol level between 0.25 and 0.50 mg per litre of exhaled air. For professional and novice drivers, the limit is between 0.15 and 0.30 mg / l.
• Throwing objects on or nearby the road that could cause fires, accidents or impede other road users.
• Driving on motorways or dual carriageways with vehicles that are expressly prohibited.
• Driving a vehicle with an occupation that increases by 50% or more the number of authorised seats.
• Driving a vehicle without a licence for that vehicle.
• Driving with a suspended licence or having been banned for driving that vehicle.
• Driving negligently and putting other road users at risk.
• Failure to comply with the legal provisions on the priorities and the obligation to stop at the stop sign and traffic lights.
• Overtaking, endangering or hindering cyclists.
• Performing a reversing manoeuvre on motorways.
• Increasing speed or performing manoeuvres that prevent or hinder overtaking by the driver of another vehicle.
• Failure to observe the signs and signals of agents that regulate movement.
• Failure to maintain a safe distance from the vehicle ahead.
• Driving using a mobile phone, programming the browser, using headphones or other devices that reduce the attention.
• Not using seat belts, child restraints, helmets and other protective equipment.