Controlling road safety is the main objective of the DGT. Its dissuasive measures also entail economic sanctions, so there are many who believe that the tax collection effort is ahead. However, knowing the distribution of the fines that are imposed also allows us to know where we failed as drivers.
Record collection for DGT fines
Last year the collection of fines from the General Directorate of Traffic reached record figure of 507,361,888 euros, a figure that is the highest in history, according to the data collected by the non-profit association Automovilistas Europeos Asociados, with data from the DGT itself. To compare, 444,347,375 euros was the collection of the year 2021. More than 60 million difference.
As can be guessed, the gross number of sanctions also increased. During the past year, Tráfico formulated on the Spanish roads of its competition a total of 5,542,178 complaintswhich represented an increase of 15.6% compared to the complaints made in 2021 (4,793,520).
As for a figure that helps us better understand these gross figures, if we do the math we get the daily amounts. The General Directorate of Traffic imposes some 15,000 sanctions per day, which translate into almost 1.4 million euros per day. It must be remembered that these figures do not even include the entire national territory, but rather the roads under its jurisdiction (those throughout Spain, except the Basque Country and Catalonia).
The most common offenses
Regarding the offenses with the most fines, the data is not surprising and remains in line with previous years. He speeding It continues to lead the ranking of sanctions imposed by the DGT in 2022, with 3,704,675 complaints, being present in two thirds of the infractions. Speeding or inappropriate speed is one of the main risk factors on the road. It must be remembered that one in five traffic accidents with victims can be directly related to speeding.
In second place are the offenses for not having passed the ITV or for being unfavorable (618,375), with an increase of 4.6% compared to the figures for 2021. They continue to drive without a license (137,475), which rises by 8.4% ; not using a seat belt (105,996), which increased by 0.16%; and driving using the mobile (88.201).
The types of fines that have experienced a statistical decrease are a 48.38% reduction in complaints for driving with the presence of drugs (26,126 complaints compared to the 50,613 filed in 2021); the use of mobile phones while driving (-13.05) and reckless driving (-3.10%).
As for those that have had a notable increase compared to the previous year, driving above the legal alcohol limit shows an increase of 51.8%, going from 56,073 complaints in 2021 to 85,130 in 2022. There is also an increase in those related to driving without insurance (21%) and failure to identify the driver by vehicle owners (21.7% ).
