Temporary Road Signs

Although specific campaigns are conducted throughout the year, as well as consistent monitoring or the roads, the latest published data is from 2022, when in a single week, 3,400 drivers were fined for exceeding the maximum permitted speed in zones where the limit had been reduced temporarily, such as in sections of road works.

Two years ago, in 2021, there were more than 150 incidents in which maintenance workers were affected, 2 of them dying due to collisions in these areas.

There are priorities of road signs and types in Spain, at the top of the chain being officers directing traffic. In other words, if a police officer indicate that you should carry out any kind of move or manoeuvre, then that instruction overrules any other road sign you might see.

Temporary road signs have a yellow background, and they take priority over the standard road sign. So, if you see a yellow-backed circular sign displaying the number 60, and a white-backed circular sign displaying the number 80, then the yellow sign takes priority, and therefore the maximum permitted speed indicated in this example is 60 kilometres per hour.

Of course, as in all cases, the established limit is a maximum, not a target, and it does not mean you should travel at that speed if the conditions demand you drive slower.

We must always head road signs, but we must also pay attention to them, as they might change without us being aware, such as in the example given.

As a final warning, temporary radar and speed detectors are going to become increasingly used in these area in order to educate drivers through enforcement of the need to slow down.