New traffic rules in Spain leave important safety equipment questions unanswered

Spain’s new traffic rules come into force on October 1, but several practical questions about safety equipment still do not have a complete answer.

The new regulation sets out the main requirements, but has left us all waiting for some essential technical specifications and future ministerial decisions, at some point. Other changes have been given a one-year transition period.

Regular road users are not the only ones tearing their hair out over this. In private conversations recently held with Guardia Civil officers responsible for enforcing these new regulations, the EWN has learned that we are not the only ones who have been left in the dark.

That means October 1 is not necessarily the date when every single detail of the new system will be settled. Most will, so be careful.

Let’s not forget that we were promised a 3-month grace period with the introduction of the V-16 beacon, but, it seems, someone forgot to tell the Guardia Civil, and so the first fine came in the first days of the year.

What helmet will electric scooter riders need?

Electric scooter riders and other users of vehicles of personal mobility (VMPs) will have to wear a properly fastened protective helmet. The legislation says the helmet must be “homologated” or certified, but does not state a particular technical standard that electric scooter helmets must meet. A bylaw is in already in place in many Spanish towns about this, but there still remains doubt in some places.

That leaves a practical question for anyone buying a helmet for an electric scooter rider specifically to comply with the new law: which certification or homologation will be accepted? The regulation currently does not provide that level of detail. A certain level of common sense will be expected by the police for that one.

This should not be confused with the separate motorcycle and moped helmet requirement. That new homologation requirement has a one-year transition period and will apply from October 1, 2027, very close to the next general election.

Motorcycle glove rules need a future order

Motorcycle and moped riders and passengers will have to wear protective gloves when travelling on between-towns roads. However, the technical characteristics of those gloves are not yet set out in the new regulation. The legislation provides for them to be established through a future ministerial order, at some point.

Until that order takes effect, transitional arrangements allow the existing requirements to continue.

This is therefore a genuine example of a new obligation arriving before all of its technical details have been established.

Bicycle seats and trailers are waiting as well

The same issue applies to certain bicycle equipment. The new framework covers additional seats for carrying children, as well as trailers and semi-trailers used for passengers, animals or loads.

But, again, the technical specifications for these items are also due to be established through a future ministerial order. We don’t know when. Until then, the transitional provisions apply, including the requirement for additional seats to be certified.

What is still missing?

Mobility scooters are different

The changes affecting VMPs should not be confused with the mobility scooters used by those with issues walking distances. The DGT definition of a vehicle of personal mobility excludes vehicles designed for people with reduced mobility. A conventional mobility scooter therefore does not become a VMP simply because it has an electric motor. For now, there are no changes on a national scale for mobility scooters. Although, if Benidorm tourists continue racing them, that may change.

The new VMP requirements should consequently not be applied automatically to mobility aids used by people with reduced mobility.

Some answers may come later (who knows?)

The DGT confirmed on September 24 that most of the new regulation will apply from October 1, while some requirements have been deliberately delayed. Daytime lighting for electric scooters, for example, and the new motorcycle and moped helmet certification requirement, will not fully apply until October 1, 2027.

The important distinction for road users is that some rules are already clear but just delayed, while others have been introduced with technical details still to be established.

For electric scooter users, the helmet obligation is also clear. What is not yet obvious from the regulation is exactly which technical helmet standard will satisfy it. Please, use your common sense.

That means further official guidance or ministerial orders could still change the practical details of how some of these new requirements are applied. The Euro Weekly News will endeavor to keep everyone up to date as and when Spain’s Ministry of Transport, or its DGT department, takes a decision on these subjects.