New Rules for Pickup Trucks

Owners of pickup vehicles may need to be aware that new rules came into force in Spain in July.

In particular, the pickup with a maximum mass not more than 3.500 kg and whose seating position and loading area are not located in a single compartment and whose total height does not exceed 2M, shall be governed by the same rules of movement as passenger vehicles.

The full text of the regulation change details how within the dynamism and evolution of the automobile market, new bodies and configurations have emerged that adapt vehicles to specific demands.

Amongst these new bodies, introduced some time ago in the market, was the configuration known commonly as a pickup. Pickup vehicles are characterised, in the main, as being a vehicle that has an area on its body where merchandise can be carried, normally in an open top area.

Due to this particularity, and in the absence of a proper classification for this type of vehicle within the definitions of the Reglamento General de Vehículos (General Regulations of Vehicles), pickup vehicles have been classified up to now as a type of commercial vehicle.

In this respect, the definition of a truck in the Reglamento General de Vehículos indicates that it is a vehicle with four wheels or more, designed and constructed for the carriage of goods, the cab is not integrated in the rest of the bodywork and with a maximum of 9 seats, including the driver.

Now, within the definition of the vehicle as a pickup, it is defined in the scope of the directive as: A vehicle whose maximum mass is not more than 3,500 kg, where the seating positions and the loading area are not located in a single compartment. From a technical point of view, the configuration, use and performance of a pickup vehicle are within the realm of those of a passenger vehicle and not those of a commercial vehicle. This circumstance brings with it certain dysfunctions derived from the direct application to vehicle types and the rules of circulation of commercial vehicles.

Therefore, from July 7, pickup vehicles with a maximum mass not exceeding 3,500 kg, where the seating positions and the loading area are not located in a single compartment and whose total height is not more than 2 metres, will be governed by the same rules of circulation applied to passenger vehicles.

To facilitate their identification and control, a specific field will be enabled in the Vehicle Register for pickup vehicles. The above does not affect in any case any other obligations (fiscal, periodicity of ITVs, etc), that can be derived from its formal classification as a commercial vehicle by criteria of construction in the Vehicle Registry.