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Speed limits in Spain

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Border sign displaying the general speed limits for cars and motorcycles

Spain has different speed limits for every kind of road and vehicle. Until 1973, there were no speed limits on Spanish motorways, a generic limit of 130 km/h was instated then in order to save fuel during the 1973 energy crisis. It was lowered to 100 km/h to prevent accidents, but it was raised again in 1992, this time to 120 km/h. There have been proposals to raise the speed limit to 130 km/h, but have been rejected so far.

As of the 7 March 2011 and until 30 June 2011, the maximum speed limit in Spain was reduced from 120 km/h to 110 km/h, in order to save fuel due to the ongoing Arab Spring.[1]

On 29 January 2019, the speed limit was reduced from 100 km/h to 90 km/h on single-lane rural roads.[2]

Standard motorway speed limit

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Bicycles and mopeds are not allowed to access a motorway – exceptionally bicycles may ride on the shoulders of autovías, but mopeds are banned.

Standard interurban rural roads speed limit

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    • 90 km/h for cars, buses and motorbikes
    • 80 km/h for vans, trucks and vehicles with a trailer, or campers weighing more than 3,500 kg
    • 45 km/h for bicycles and mopeds[2][citation needed]

Specific speed limits

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On all non-urban roads and motorways, school buses and vehicles containing contaminant, explosive or flammable materials must decrease their speed limit by 10 km/h.

On motorways, a minimum speed of 60 km/h is mandatory for all kinds of vehicles. Minimum speeds in the rest of roads are one half of the generic speed limit for every vehicle. If a posted speed limit sign is below this value, the minimum speed is the posted limit minus 10 km/h.

No legal sanction is established for driving at a measured speed within 3 to 10 percent over the speed limit, depending on the specific error margin of the radar.[3]

Built-up areas speed limit

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  • Built-up areas:
    • 50 km/h on urban roads with two lanes per direction
    • 30 km/h on urban roads with one lane per direction
    • 20 km/h on urban roads shared with pedestrians

[4]

References

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  1. ^ Article regarding the temporary speed limit reduction - El País
  2. ^ a b "New speed limits are in force in Spain from today". Trans.INFO. Retrieved 2019-10-12.
  3. ^ La nueva Ley de Tráfico, punto por punto - ABC.es (Spanish)
  4. ^ "New year, new norms". 29 March 2021.