SPAIN and drink driving levels, my experience

S

stingray

Active Member
On my last trip those fine men in green (no not Robin Hood but the Guardia Civil) kindly breathalized me on the highway.

I was told the limit was 0.25 on the machine. I was slightly over this, but not much, and the second test was borderline but still over.

They let me go, saying it's not much over you're free to drive home.

:rolleyes:


But after checking the legal limits in Spain, it's clearly 0.5 milligrams of alcohol per millilitre of blood.

Were they playing a little game with me, or do the machines not read alcohol levels the same way?

Anyone else have this experience?
 
The limit for driving in Spain is 0.05% blood alcohol level...

I'm not sure how that calculates to milligrams per milliliter :confused: (I don't think it's a direct correlation because blood weighs differently than water, plus even measuring water I think your mg/ml number is off)
 
you was very lucky indeed.i never drink and drive.not worth it. i always make my way back to basecamp and drink later.yes it would of affected your Uk driving license.thats why you have to take it out with you.
 
think you must multiply the result from the machine with 2,
0,25 milligrams per liter " Breathair " is the same, as 0,50 gram alcohol per liter blood ?
sorry for my engl.
metro.
 
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metropolis said:
think you must multiply the result from the machine with 2,
0,25 milligrams per liter " Breathair " is the same, as 0,50 gram alcohol per liter blood ?
sorry for my engl.
metro.
Click to expand...
well, yes and no, there are two limits for alcohol in body in spain, one referred to alcohol in air and other referrred to alcohol in blood. normally the limit for air is less than the one for blood, I don't know exactly why but there might be some biological reason. This is why when you make a breathe control and if you give a positive result you always havo to say you don't agree with the result of the machine and you want a blood analisys, so while they take you to a hospital (normally they don't have this kind of equipment on their vans), the level has fallen quite enough to save you from a fine...
 
When you are caught drunk driving in Spain/Ibiza you only get a fine or also on the spot your license is suspended and/or car?
 
I drink and drive evry day - but not at the same time!
Drive during the day - only soft drinks - and park up the car at the hotel and taxi everywhere at night because I know I will have a few:oops:
Adds 30 - 40 euros to most nights but rather that than feel guilt for the rest of my life for killing someone
 
There have been a lot of roadblocks this summer. As ever, the results aren't entirely consistent.

As I understand it, a points system has only been introduced fairly recently in Spain. However, points don't get transferred internationally. Yet. Common fines are in the range of 450 euros.

Some friends of mine who live here were stopped a few weeks ago and the driver was over the limit. None of them had a licence or any other form of ID on them. I'm pretty sure that's an offence in itself. The Guardia said the driver would have to go home, to the other end of the island, and get his licence and money for the fine.

Eventually one of the others was able to remember the last three digits of his NIE. The cops checked this, found it was kosher and then let himdrive home. The one who was fined of course wasn't the breathalysed driver... Aah Spanish justice.
 
you don't really have to live here very long to know that you need a mountain of paperwork permanently on your person to do anything.
 
2Sep said:
well, yes and no, there are two limits for alcohol in body in spain, one referred to alcohol in air and other referrred to alcohol in blood. normally the limit for air is less than the one for blood, I don't know exactly why but there might be some biological reason. This is why when you make a breathe control and if you give a positive result you always havo to say you don't agree with the result of the machine and you want a blood analisys, so while they take you to a hospital (normally they don't have this kind of equipment on their vans), the level has fallen quite enough to save you from a fine...
Click to expand...

it is the same limite,0,25 g in air make exactly 0.5g in blood
 
from the ibiza sun:

New Laws
Spain has introduced strict new drink-driving laws in an attempt to curb the growing problem. Until now drivers failing a breath-test have faced only fines, with a considerable number of cases not even getting to court. However tough new legislation is set to change all this and prison sentences are set to be handed out to those breaking the law.
The current level allowed in Spain is 0.25 mg. This will not change although the new legislation has highlighted 0.60 mg as the level where, if exceeded, incarceration is possible. Cases will also be heard far quicker with speed trials becoming the norm.
The law came into affect last Sunday and the first case has already been heard in Ibiza. A 29 year old Spanish man recorded alcohol blood level of 0.89 mg just four hours into the new legislation. His case was heard just two days later and after pleading guilty he was fined €1,080, his licence was suspended for one year, and he has also been ordered to carry out 31 days of community service. He only avoided a prison sentence due to the fact he had no previous convictions.
In Spain as a whole 154 drivers have been arrested and put on trial over the first two days of the new legislation. The majority were arrested for being over the legal alcohol limit, although several were also detained for excessive speeding and for not possessing a driving licence.

7x0c4rn.jpg

UH
 
btw, two speed radars have been installed during the last days..... one in the ibiza town/san antonio road next to ___ and one in the san antonio/ibiza town road next to ___. drive safely boys and girlies.....

4ot28wj.jpg
 
from majorca daily bulletin:

First victim of drink drive law
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]THE toughening up of drink-drive laws in the Balearics has resulted in the first case of an Island resident being convicted.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]The 55-year-old guilty party was stopped at a police checkpoint on 6th December and found to have an unacceptably high level of alcohol in his blood. The sentence of the confiscation of his driving license for two-and-a-half years which was passed on him by the Court was the first in the Balearics since the Penal Code had been officially tightened on 1st December. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]The incident serves as a wake-up call for all drivers on the Island. Not only is it a question of the withdrawal of the license but if the guilty party wishes to drive again when the sentence time has passed, he will need to return to driving school and take examinations in theory as much as in practice. He will also be obliged to carry out 61 days of community work and pay six euros a day in fines for a period of nine months. The sentencing judge bore in mind the fact that the same man had already been penalised in June for a similar offence. According to Traffic Police, the guilty party had been stopped at a roundabout on the Manacor bypass driving a luxury Jaguar car but alcohol tests and his psychophysical condition proved that he was well above the permitted limit. During the court hearing, he said that he had become the victim of ill luck since the new legislation had only been in place for five days when he was stopped.[/FONT]
 
from the ibiza sun:

More Convictions
Positive breath-tests have quadrupled in Santa Eulalia, according to the latest figures released by municipality police. In 2007, ninety-nine drivers were arrested for being over the legal alcohol limit, all of whom have had, or are in the process of having, their licences revoked for a minimum twelve month period.
In 2006 there were just twenty-eight incidents of this kind reported. The increase has been a result of more controls being carried out by police, checks which are set to continue throughout 2008.

99 just in santa eulalia..... jeez ! !
 
from majorca daily bulletin:

Driving licences lost since the introduction of points system
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]SOME 10 Balearic drivers have lost their licences since the introduction of the points system on July 1, 2006.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Another 31 drivers will follow them during the next two weeks, according to the Spanish Government’s delegate to the Balearics, Ramon Socias, “as they are yet to receive the letter which tells them that they have lost all their points”. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Reviewing the last 18 months, Socias said that in total 41 Balearic drivers have lost all their points during this period. He highlighted the fact that “during the whole of last year there were no prison sentences for speeding or consumption of alcohol. This is a very slow legal process and we have to work to bring in these prison sentences very soon”. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]The reasons for points being lost are very varied. The National Traffic Department (DGT) will withdraw the licence for a period of six months, extendable to 12 months if the temporary ex-driver has offended before. To recover your driving licence, the driver has to take an awareness and re-education course lasting 15 hours, and after that has to pass some aptitude tests. The DGT will then issue a new licence, although it will only have eight points on it. After three years without any serious of very serious offences, they can apply to have the 12 points reinstated. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]The start of the licence points system has made a big change in the behaviour of Spanish drivers.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]For example, the incidence of positive breath tests has been reduced to almost half of what it was before, according to the review of the years 2006-2007 by the Spanish Ministry for the Interior. The reduction has been much more noticeable in the special operations at Christmas, as the positive breath tests came down by 25 percent. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]During the first year of the points system being in place, there were 450 courses undertaken by drivers wanting to recover their points. The greatest amount of points (six) can be lost for driving under the influence of drink or drugs, refusing to take a breath test, driving up a street the wrong way or for exceeding the speed limit by 50 percent. Four points can be lost for negligent driving, failing to stop at a STOP sign, overtaking where there is limited visibility or driving in reverse on a motorway.[/FONT]
 
from the ibiza sun:

Speed Controls
From this week the speed radar on the San Antonio-Ibiza road will begin to operate as the Interior Minister for the Balearics, Ramon Socias, called for a crackdown on those breaking the speed limit on all four islands. His department spent a total of €955,960 last year installing six fixed radars across the region, four in Mallorca, one in Menorca and one in Ibiza. He added that he wanted people to feel "watched" and cut down their speed, and urged the authorities to take the necessary action to curb the rising number of road deaths.
His comments came as it was revealed a total of 20 people had so far been killed in the Balearics in traffic accidents, nine of whom were under 30 years of age. This bucks the national trend, which saw deaths fall during the first three months of the year.
 
in related news..... from majorca daily bulletin:

Driving without a licence could now spell prison[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]
DRIVING without a licence became an offence punishable by a prison sentence in Spain yesterday.
From now on, anyone caught driving without passing the test or that have had their licence suspended or removed will be liable to three to six months in prison, a fine or community service of between 31 and 90 days.
Previously, driving without a licence was regarded as administrative infraction.
Drivers in Spain have five months to regularise their situation since new road traffic legislation came into effect last December. It’s still not known how many people have used the moratorium to pass their test though the National Confederation of Driving Schools (CNAE) is trying to establish a figure by polling its provincial associations. These drivers, according to the President of CNA, José Miguel Báez, are normally those that operate in areas that have few police controls. [/FONT]
 
The worst part about drink driving in spain is I keep spilling it with all those windy bumpy roads, Now Holland theres a country where you can really get loads down your neck without spilling a drop.
Now if you do get caught just how much does it cost to bribe the cops over there. I've allways managed with about 20 quid before.
 
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