The Spanish Traffic Service DGT has been using drones since 2019 to monitor and detect road violations. Where are these drones? And which radars hand out the most fines in Spain?
Drones are used by DGT to detect road violations, such as reckless driving, and control traffic, especially in high-risk areas and on roads used by vulnerable users, such as pedestrians, cyclists or motorcyclists.
That is why the DGT will have 39 surveillance drones from 7 July. That is 28 more than in 2020. 95 staff members are specially trained on drone operations. 35 will operate the drones while the other 60 manage the cameras installed in the drones. This concerns both DGT employees and traffic officers.
Operation and features of the DGT drones
The accredited pilot to handle flight checks is responsible for putting the drone into service. It is then the operator who controls and manages the camera placed in it. Any offense committed will provide a framework with evidence of this.
The road violations detected by the drones can be reported by an agent of the traffic police of the Guardia Civil at the time of the violation itself. Alternatively, the violation or after subsequent processing of the violation by the competent authorities.
How are the drones distributed?
The 39 drones are all over Spain. Only the autonomous regions of the Basque Country and Catalonia have their own traffic police and enforcement. Each existing helicopter patrol in A Coruña, Zaragoza, Valladolid, Seville, Malaga and Valencia will be given two drones to monitor traffic for road violations. The central base in Madrid will receive 15 drones and together with Castilla la Mancha they will provide reinforcements in the rest of the country if necessary.
Where are the DGT drones in Spain?
There will be 2 drones per area in Asturias, Cantabria and Extremadura and 3 in the Balearic and Canary Islands. Each drone can operate at an altitude of 120 meters, reach a speed of 80 kilometres per hour and withstand temperatures of 20 to 45 degrees. The autonomy is a maximum of 40 minutes. After that, the battery is replaced and the flight resumes immediately.
What about radars?
The Traffic Service published the following list of the 50 fixed radars that imposed the most fines in 2020.
More than 30,000 fines
Andalucia, Málaga, A-7 km. 246: 48,771 fines
Region of Valencia, Valencia, AP-7 km. 478: 47.711
Region of Madrid, Madrid, A-4 km. 13: 37.316
Andalucia, Málaga, A-7 km. 256: 34,317
Andalucia, Seville, SE-30 km. 10: 33.163
Region of Murcia, Murcia, RM-19 km. 17: 30.617
Region of Valencia, Valencia, V-31 km. 5: 30.107
More than 20,000 fines
Castilla-La Mancha, Cuenca, A-3 km. 156: 29,302
Region of Madrid, Madrid, AP-6 km. 49: 27,820
Region of Madrid, Madrid, M-40 km. 52: 26,442
Region of Madrid, Madrid, A-4 km. 12: 26.016
Region of Madrid, A-5 km. 12:25.996
Andalucia, Granada, A-92 km. 256: 25.082
Andalucia, Seville, A-92 km. 83: 23.180
More than 10,000 fines
Andalucia, Málaga, MA-20 km. 10:19.645
Galicia, A Coruna, AC-11 km. 3: 19,326
Region of Valencia, Castellon, N-340 km. 960: 18,960
Balearic Islands, MA-1 km. 15: 16.892
Region of Madrid, Madrid, A-2 km. 15: 16,446
Castilla y Leon, Salamanca, A-66 km. 340: 15,927
Region of Valencia, Valencia, A-7 km. 337: 15,781
Andalucia, Seville, A-92 km. 29: 15,775
Region Navara, Navarre, A-15 km. 127: 15,731
Region of Valencia, Alicante, N-332 km. 140: 14.581
Castilla-La Mancha, Ciudad Real, A-4 km. 135: 14,512
Aragon, Huesca, N-240 km. 202: 14.402
Galicia, Lugo, A-8 km. 545: 14.289
Balearic Islands, EI-600 km. 9: 14.271
Canary Islands, Las Palmas, GC-1 km. 5:14.145
Galicia, Pontevedra, A-55 km. 9:14.023
Andalucia, Seville, A-49 km. 0: 13.777
Region of Valencia, Alicante, A-70 km. 2: 13.731
Galicia, Pontevedra, A-55 km. 11: 13.329
La Rioja, La Rioja, AP-68 km. 78: 13.134
Castilla y Leon, Segovia, A-1 km. 125: 13,030
Andalucia, Málaga, A-45 km. 128: 12.856
Cantabria, Cantabria, A-8 km. 144: 12,769
Canary Islands, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, TF-1 km 59 12.541
Castilla y Leon, Burgos A-1 km. 234: 12.334
Castilla-La Mancha, Ciudad Real, A-4 km. 230: 12.328
Region of Valencia, Castellon, AP-7 km. 390: 12,074
Andalucia, Málaga, A-384 km. 89: 11,765
Andalucia, Cadiz, A-381 km. 37: 11,291
Galicia, Pontevedra, A-52 km. 282: 11,100
Castilla y Leon, Zamora, A-52 km. 99, 10,958
Region of Madrid, Madrid, A-42 km. 13: 10,780
Region of Murcia, Murcia, RM-15 km.13: 10.758
Castilla y Leon, Burgos A-1 km. 194: 10.703
Andalucia, Granada, A-44 km. 132: 10.701
Castilla-La Mancha, Toledo A-42 km. 71: 10.556
Google Maps and the free turn-by-turn GPS navigation application Waze are not only useful for finding your way, but also warn you where there is a mobile radar or police control. To see the location of the DGT fixed radars on Google Maps, enter the route in the navigator and look at some orange symbols in the shape of a globe (fixed radars) and blue (mobile radar images). On Waze, a camera or a symbol of a police officer will appear on the route as a warning for a fixed or mobile check.
Of course, the best way to avoid fines is to abide by the speed limits and stay safe on the roads.
