Brit tourists beware! €200 fine for THIS!

For British tourists planning on driving in Spain, it might be worth just checking a few other details apart from the obvious ones, like driving on the right-hand side of the road.

There are a few little-known Spanish traffic laws that can lead an unaware foreign driver to get all hot and bothered and maybe lose his shirt, claims The Daily Express, Saturday, June 3.

Despite temperatures in excess of 35 degrees Celsius in parts of Spain, the temptation to remove one’s shirt while driving is something you should avoid at all costs.

Anyone taking off a shirt or top while driving could land themselves with a not insubstantial fine of €200 (£171) and three penalty points to boot.

Driving along shirtless in itself is not illegal, but anything that can get in the way of safe driving including the wearing of inappropriate clothing or footwear most definitely is.

According to Spain’s General Directorate of Traffic (DGT), being shirtless is potentially dangerous as it can lead to sunburn and injuries when using a seatbelt.

Any driver charged with the offence could face a fine between €80 (£69) to €200, and three penalty points, it all depends on the judgement of the individual officer.

Motoring expert, Andrew Jervis, CEO of ClickMechanic, said: ‘It’s fairly common to see motorists in the UK remove their shirts to cool down during hot weather.’

However, he went on to say: ‘In Spain, traffic police consider driving shirtless to be a threat to your safety and your ability to move, which means it is against the law to strip off your top half.’

Wearing inappropriate footwear such as flip-flops while tootling along even on short trips is something to be avoided.

A translation of a 2018 Guardia Civil warning states: ‘A fine for driving with flip flops? Yes, believe it, they can penalise you when the conduct impedes the freedom of movement of the driver or the control of the vehicle and thereby jeopardises the safety of the road.’

The best advice it seems when the weather is hot is to stay cool and keep your shirt on.