DGT

Spain’s new emergency corridor rule starts October 1. What every driver needs to do

Published

28 mins ago

September 21, 2026

admin

Ambulances face heavy motorway congestion as Spain prepares to require drivers to create an emergency corridor from October 1. Credit: DGT

A traffic jam on a Spanish motorway will soon mean more than slowing down and waiting. From October 1, drivers must create a clear route for ambulances, police, fire crews and other emergency vehicles whenever traffic is moving at walking pace or has stopped.

The new rule applies across Spain’s autopistas and autovías. It is designed to prevent emergency vehicles being trapped behind long queues after collisions, fires or medical incidents.

When do drivers have to form an emergency corridor?

The obligation starts when there is a traffic hold up and vehicles are either crawling at walking pace or stationary.

You do not have to wait until an ambulance is visible in the mirror. Once the queue forms, drivers should position their vehicles to leave the route open. Emergency vehicles can then get through immediately when they arrive.

The measure applies on motorways and dual carriageways, not ordinary single carriageway roads or town streets.

diagram showing drivers moving aside to create a clear route for an ambulance responding to a motorway incident. — DGT guidance shows how vehicles should move aside to create a clear route for ambulances and other emergency services. Credit DGT

Where does the emergency corridor go on a two lane road?

On a motorway or dual carriageway with two lanes travelling in the same direction, the clear route must be created between the two lanes.

Drivers in the left lane should move as far left as safely possible. Drivers in the right lane should move as far right as safely possible.

The gap in the middle is for emergency services. It is not an extra lane for impatient drivers, motorcyclists or anyone trying to bypass the queue.

What happens when there are three or more lanes?

The rule changes slightly on larger motorways.

The emergency corridor must be formed between the far left lane and the lane immediately beside it. Drivers in the far left lane move as far left as possible, while vehicles in every other lane move as far right as possible.

This leaves a continuous route on the left side of the carriageway for ambulances, police, fire engines and rescue services.

What drivers should not do

Do not drive along the hard shoulder to escape the traffic. Do not follow an ambulance through the gap it has created. Do not block the corridor while trying to change lanes at the last moment.

Drivers should also avoid stopping so close to the vehicle in front that they cannot move aside. Leaving sensible space becomes particularly important in tunnels, on bridges and in heavy holiday traffic, where access for emergency services can be difficult.

Could you be fined?

The new emergency corridor requirement forms part of Spain’s updated General Traffic Regulations. Failing to follow lane use rules can be treated as a serious traffic offence, which normally carries a €200 fine.

The exact penalty will depend on the circumstances and enforcement decision. Where a driver obstructs an emergency vehicle or creates a genuine danger, the consequences may be more serious. Drivers should not rely on the corridor being merely a courtesy. From October 1, it is a legal obligation.

The rule is set out in Royal Decree 518 of 2026, published in the BOE, which updates Spain’s General Traffic Regulations.

For the wider list of traffic changes arriving this autumn, including new rules affecting cyclists, motorcyclists and scooters, read our guide to Spain’s road rule changes from October 1.

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Average Speed Cameras In Spain Have A Quirky Loophole

Published

14 hours ago

September 21, 2026

Adam Woodward

average-speed-cameras-in-spain-have-a-quirky-loophole

Average speed camera warning in Spain. Credit: DGT

Spain’s traffic authority has packed motorways and A-roads with average speed cameras in recent years, yet one design quirk still lets some drivers drop out of the calculation altogether.

Cameras at each end of a measured stretch time number plates from point A to point B. Take an earlier slip road and the second photo never happens, so no average speed, and no automatic ticket, can be produced for that control. This appears to be an error on behalf of the designers of these speed traps.

In the UK, average speed cameras are generally laid out so there are are no exits to wipe the reading. Spain’s DGT system only completes the sum when the same plate is timed at both published ends. Cameras are not routinely fitted on every slip road in between. That looks like a layout mistake on longer motorway stretches, not a trick the DGT has endorsed.

How average speed cameras actually work

Infrared cameras sit at the start and the finish of a signed section. First gantry logs the plate and a GPS-synced time. Last gantry does the same. A central computer matches both readings and works out the mean speed. Pass both cameras in less time than the minimum time calculated for that distance and a fine is generated automatically.

Those cameras are not usually mounted on every intermediate exit. Without a matching exit stamp for the same plate, the system has nothing to compare it with. That is why a last-second dive off the motorway can wipe that particular average speed camera from the equation. Official DGT explainers already describe the two-point method; motoring reports this week have spelled out the consequence when drivers never reach the second gate.

This is not a green light to race. Fixed boxes, mobile units and Guardia Civil patrols still operate on the same roads. Reckless weaving at a junction can earn a separate fine. Treat the gap as a technical limit of one device, not a strategy.

How many of these sections are now on Spanish roads

DGT-run average speed cameras jumped from 92 in spring 2024 to 153. Add regional kits in Catalonia, the Basque Country and Navarra, plus big-city council devices, and the national total is 299. About 140 section cameras were installed between 2021 and 2026. Policy under Pere Navarro has favoured longer corridors so drivers have less room to sprint then brake.

Spain’s longest average speed test is on the CL-615 in Palencia, kilometre points 34.61 to 67.51 towards Guardo: 32.9 km limited to 90 km/h. Second is the A-68 between Cortes and Tudela, 30.5 km at 120 km/h. Another Palencia stretch on the CL-615 covers 23.1 km. Those distances make mid-section exits more common, and more relevant to how the maths works.

EWN has already mapped Spain’s longest average speed camera and the legal ways to check published DGT lists. Locations of fixed and section cameras are public; radar detectors and jammers are not.

What this means if you clock a gantry too late

Anyone who spots the first camera late and knows an exit sits before the finish may drop off the measured pair. That appears to be an oversight in how many of these kits were laid out: long motorway sections often have service roads and junctions between the two check points.

Do not bank on it. Extra cameras can be added at busy slip roads. Other offences still apply. Speed limits apply whether a computer is watching that exact stretch or not.

Fines for being over the average still run from €100 with no points for modest excesses up to €600 and six points for the worst cases. Section systems typically allow a 10 per cent tolerance when the speed is calculated.

Steady driving still beats a last-gasp slip-road scramble. Average speed cameras were built to stop that yo-yo habit. On some layouts, leaving before the last camera simply means that one system never finishes its sum.

accident

19-year-old dies after car plunges into drainage ditch as questions grow over roadside safety in Spain

Published

2 days ago

September 19, 2026

admin

A 19-year-old man has died after the car he was driving in left the road and plunged down a drop in Alhaurin el Grande, Malaga province.

The fatal crash happened at around 11pm on Friday, September 18, on Calle Rio Guadalmedina, on the road between Alhaurin el Grande and Villafranco, according to Emergencias 112 Andalucia. Several witnesses instantly called emergency services after seeing that a car had left the road and fallen down a drainage ditch, with a person inside requiring medical assistance.

Firefighters, Guardia Civil, local police and emergency medical teams were sent to the scene. However, medical staff could only confirm the death of the 19-year-old. No further details have been released about why the vehicle left the road, and there is currently no suggestion that the roadside layout was responsible for the crash.

The tragedy does, however, draw attention to a familiar road-safety issue for motorists travelling on rural roads across Spain: what happens when a vehicle accidentally leaves the carriageway?

Spanish roads and the danger beyond the tarmac

Deep drainage ditches, steep slopes and sudden drops are common sights beside some rural roads, sometimes with little space between the edge of the road and the hazard. Near to the site of the accident, on the A-404 between Alhaurin el Grande and Coin, recent resurfacing and works have left newly built drainage ditches at the side of the road, in some spots, deeper that one metre.

Government recognised problem

Spanish road-safety guidance recognises that these features can make a crash more serious. The Directorate-General for Traffic (DGT) says around 500 people are killed every year in run-off-road crashes, with 482 deaths recorded in 2025. More than half of serious or fatal incidents occur on conventional single-carriageway roads.

The DGT also says the severity of a run-off-road crash is influenced by the characteristics of the roadside, including slopes, obstacles and whether a safety barrier is present. That does not mean every ditch or drop needs a guardrail.

When does a Spanish road need a barrier?

Spain’s national guidance takes a risk-based approach rather than simply requiring barriers beside every ditch. The Ministry of Transport’s Order Circular 35/2014 sets out criteria for vehicle restraint systems on the state road network. It requires roadside hazards to be assessed and says that dangerous obstacles or changes in level should, where possible, be removed, moved or redesigned before a barrier is installed.

The DGT specifically recommends redesigning roadside ditches and verges so that a vehicle leaving the road has a better chance of regaining control rather than encountering a sudden change in level. Its guidance reports a 6 per cent reduction in crashes associated with this type of treatment.

For drivers and residents in the campo, the question is therefore not simply whether a rural road has a guardrail. It is whether the roadside gives a driver who makes a mistake a realistic chance of recovering before a relatively minor departure from the carriageway becomes a much more serious accident.

The circumstances surrounding Friday night’s tragic crash in Alhaurin el Grande are still under investigation.