There are more vehicles and more drivers in Spain than in the last 34 years, but there are also fewer violations of traffic regulations, which translates into fewer traffic fines. This is highlighted by the General Statistical Yearbook 2023 from the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT), which reveals that, on average, the Civil Guard, local police and fixed reporting systems (radars and cameras) filed 1,541 reports per day. It also includes interesting data, such as that Cuenca is the province with the highest number of vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants.
13% more registrations. During 2023, 1,467,570 vehicles were registered, which is 13% more than the previous year. A long way from 2005, when the record for new cars on the roads was broken, with almost 2.4 million. In terms of vehicles, passenger cars are in the lead by a huge margin, having exceeded one million. They are followed by motorcycles (206,942) and trucks and vans (184,391). The average passenger car profile, according to the data in the yearbook, is of low displacement, less than 1,200 cubic centimetres (40%), with a petrol engine (71.3%) and with a class C environmental badge (52.1%).
Madrid was the province in which the most vehicles were registered (530,935); and Ávila (1,261), the one with the fewest. By month, June – due to the start of summer – and March – due to Easter – were the months with the highest sales. During 2023 there were 3.8 million changes of ownership – due to purchase-sale, transfer or inheritance, among other cases – and 1.14 million vehicles were deregistered, the vast majority of which were passenger cars.
36 million vehicles. Spain has reached a record number of vehicles, with 36 million in circulation or with the capacity to do so. If mopeds are included, which the DGT breaks down in the general list, the figure reaches 37.9 million. In 34 years – the length of the historical series of Traffic – the vehicle fleet has more than doubled: in 1990 it stood at 15.7 million. Since then, there have only been falls in 2009, 2012 and 2013. This coincided with the crisis of 2008, when many people got rid of their vehicles because they could not maintain them or pay the purchase instalments. Once again, passenger cars are in the lead (25.3 million), followed by trucks and vans (5.1) and motorcycles (4.1). The lowest sector: buses (66,638). By fuel type, diesel engines are the most numerous (18.4 million, 51%), followed by gasoline engines (16.7 million and 46%).
Cuenca, in the lead. This province has the highest number of vehicles (945) per 1,000 inhabitants, followed by the Balearic Islands (921) and Teruel (916). In the first case, this is due to the need to have a car to be able to travel between towns and the possible lack of public transport for these journeys. In the case of the islands, the vehicle fleet is increased by rental companies aimed at tourism. On the other side of the table, we find Bizkaia (615), Zaragoza (634) and Barcelona (637).
An aging park. One of the problems that has always been attributed to cars in Spain is that they are quite old. Traffic data confirms this. Of the 25.3 million cars circulating on the country’s roads, 61.6% (15.6 million) are over 10 years old. Those that are 20 years old or older reach 6.2 million. This means that these vehicles lack the new driving assistance systems and, in addition, their owners are usually elderly.
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1,542 new drivers per day. A total of 562,758 people obtained their driving licence for the first time, which is an average of 1,542 per day, including weekends and holidays. Of these, 56.8% were men and 43.2% women. The majority profile is a person between 18 and 20 years old who obtains a type B licence (cars). The number of new drivers may be very high, but it is still far from the 1.2 million of 2008. Examiners have been complaining for years about the lack of staff, while driving schools have protested about the delay in exams. This makes obtaining a licence more expensive and many people choose to abandon it.
Nearly 28 million drivers. In Spain, in 2023, there were 27.9 million drivers, which is a record. The increase has continued, except for small decreases, since 1990. This year, the number reached 14.3 million. There are more men (15.8 million) than women (12.1 million) with a driving license, according to data from the DGT yearbook.
7% fewer fines. If all the previous chapters have increased, the number of fines breaks the trend and is reduced by 7%, going from 5,542,005 in 2022 to 5,148,399 the following year. That gives an average of 14,105 fines per day. Of course, with a double major exception. These figures do not include the fines imposed by the Basque and Catalan autonomous police forces, since both communities have transferred the sanctioning powers in traffic matters. The highest number of violations was recorded in Madrid (603,741), Malaga (344,111) and Valencia (290,785). Does this mean that their drivers are the most offenders? No. The three areas are characterized either by being a transit area for thousands of vehicles heading to other points, or by hosting a large number of cars from other areas, given their tourist attraction. By region (not including data from the Basque Country and Catalonia), Andalusia is in the lead (1.26 million fines).
The new regulation on historic vehicles is underway
On October 1, the new regulation for historic vehicles will come into force, which will allow cars that are 30 years old or older to access this category. Those that have stopped being manufactured and those that are in their original condition, without significant changes in their characteristics, will also be able to do so. However, they must be in a correct state of maintenance and preservation. This regulation exempts vehicles that are more than 60 years old from undergoing the technical inspection of vehicles (ITV).
These historic vehicles will be used occasionally – never more than 96 days a year – and they cannot be used as a means of daily transport. The aim is to minimise their environmental impact and ensure that they are used for public transport of passengers or goods and for agricultural activities or construction and services. Those that do not have seat belts in the front seats cannot exceed 80 kilometres per hour and minors with a height equal to or less than 135 centimetres cannot travel in them on interurban roads. The so-called Historic Vehicle Technical Services will be responsible for evaluating each car and will issue the technical reports and certificates necessary for it to be classified as such.
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