Taxi users in Spain could be fined €200 for this common mistake

Passengers who don’t wear a seatbelt in the back of a taxi in Spain can be fined €200 on the spot, and it’s the passenger who pays, not the driver.

The rules have changed for taxi drivers too this autumn, and the fine drops to €100 if it’s paid quickly, so it’s worth knowing where you stand before your next ride.

The Guardia Civil stopped a taxi on the A-6

The latest passenger caught out is author Arturo Pérez-Reverte, who was riding in the back of a taxi on the A-6 on Monday November 2 when the Guardia Civil stopped it and found he wasn’t wearing his seatbelt.

The novelist is best known abroad for his Captain Alatriste series, and he also wrote The Club Dumas and The Queen of the South. Before turning to fiction he spent 21 years as a war correspondent for Spanish state television, RTVE, and he’s been a member of the Royal Spanish Academy, the body that guards the Spanish language, since 2003.

He was handed a €200 fine for a serious offence and paid €100 on the spot. He then posted on X that the officers had every right to fine him, adding that he’d wished them a good shift.

That €100 isn’t a special deal, though. It’s the standard 50 per cent reduction for paying promptly, and it’s open to anyone who gets the same fine.

Back-seat passengers pay the fine themselves

Seatbelts have been compulsory in the back seats of cars in Spain since 1992. The traffic authority says an unbelted rear passenger at 80km/h would be thrown forward with the same force as a 1,200kg ball hitting at 10km/h. 

The €200 fine belongs to the person who isn’t belted, so in a taxi that’s you, as the passenger, and not the driver. Penalty points come off the driver’s licence only, so a passenger loses the money but no points.

Children are different though. If a child isn’t belted, their parents or guardians answer for the fine as they cannot pay it themselves, and the driver still doesn’t pay the fine. In towns, children under 135cm (4ft 5in) can still ride in the back of a taxi without a child seat.

Taxi drivers lost their own exemption on October 1

Until last month, taxi drivers in towns could drive without a belt. Since Thursday October 1, that exemption has gone for taxis, delivery vehicles and driving school cars, and drivers must wear a belt at all times. A driver who skips it now faces the same €200 fine, plus four points off their licence. Only ambulance staff treating a patient in the back on an emergency call can still travel unbelted. 

So any older guide that still lists urban taxi drivers as exempt is now out of date.

Paying within 20 days halves the fine

You have 20 calendar days from receiving the notification to pay half price, so €100 for a €200 fine. Challenge it with an allegation and you lose the discount, with the full amount due if it’s rejected. Pérez-Reverte paid at the roadside, but the DGT’s own guidance only explains paying through its app or by phone, so it’s worth asking the officers what your options are.

So next time you climb into a taxi in Spain, buckle up in the back before the driver pulls away, and if a fine does come, you’ve got 20 days to pay it at half price.