Comments on: More Spanish Car Safety Madness: The ITV http://www.notesfromspain.com/2008/08/18/more-spanish-car-safety-madness-the-itv/ Podcasts and comment on travel, tapas, learning Spanish and living in Spain, plus beautiful Spain photos. Tue, 24 Jan 2012 08:00:59 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: paul http://www.notesfromspain.com/2008/08/18/more-spanish-car-safety-madness-the-itv/comment-page-1/#comment-129189 paul Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:42:07 +0000 http://www.notesfromspain.com/2008/08/18/more-spanish-car-safety-madness-the-itv/#comment-129189 not pass in ireland and should not also some are not easy replaced without removing h/light etc i.m a mechanic and a vehicle tester the amont a bulbs i see fitted wrong not pass in ireland and should not also some are not easy replaced without removing h/light etc i.m a mechanic and a vehicle tester the amont a bulbs i see fitted wrong

]]> By: Jon Green http://www.notesfromspain.com/2008/08/18/more-spanish-car-safety-madness-the-itv/comment-page-1/#comment-107896 Jon Green Sun, 07 Jun 2009 19:49:18 +0000 http://www.notesfromspain.com/2008/08/18/more-spanish-car-safety-madness-the-itv/#comment-107896 Hi, I have a house in Benalmadena Pueblo which is very much a holiday home at themoment. I have a UK registered Ford Mustang 1999 and a 1986 Jeep CJ7 on Irish Plates. Last year I paid a garage to take boyh vehicles in for an ITV The Mustang came back with a certificate for 2 years,but the Jeep had a certificate for 6 months only. Is this normal. Alao there were nostickers to affix to the windscreen. I have a suspicion that these vehicles never went to a test centre.How can I check Cheers Jon ps The guy I bought the jeep off in Spain told me it didn need an ITV due to its age Hi, I have a house in Benalmadena Pueblo which is very much a holiday home at themoment. I have a UK registered Ford Mustang 1999 and a 1986 Jeep CJ7 on Irish Plates. Last year I paid a garage to take boyh vehicles in for an ITV The Mustang came back with a certificate for 2 years,but the Jeep had a certificate for 6 months only. Is this normal. Alao there were nostickers to affix to the windscreen. I have a suspicion that these vehicles never went to a test centre.How can I check Cheers Jon
ps The guy I bought the jeep off in Spain told me it didn need an ITV due to its age

]]> By: steve hunter http://www.notesfromspain.com/2008/08/18/more-spanish-car-safety-madness-the-itv/comment-page-1/#comment-58714 steve hunter Tue, 21 Oct 2008 17:11:06 +0000 http://www.notesfromspain.com/2008/08/18/more-spanish-car-safety-madness-the-itv/#comment-58714 Re: bill & driving licences. You DO NOT need to get a Spanish driving licence if you are resident in Spain. I hold a UK driving licence (European style with photo) and you have to send this in to the authorities to have it registered on the National database. It comes back (after 3 months or so) with your Spanish NIE number lasered into it. How do I know? I´ve lived here for over 7 years and am fully aware of the legal requirements etc. for driving, ITV, taxes and so on. The Guardia Civil can also stop you for whatever reason they like. I was stopped once ("routine check, sir"), They were incredibly courteous and when all was found in order, the guy actually saluted me on my way. Re: bill & driving licences. You DO NOT need to get a Spanish driving licence if you are resident in Spain. I hold a UK driving licence (European style with photo) and you have to send this in to the authorities to have it registered on the National database. It comes back (after 3 months or so) with your Spanish NIE number lasered into it. How do I know? I´ve lived here for over 7 years and am fully aware of the legal requirements etc. for driving, ITV, taxes and so on. The Guardia Civil can also stop you for whatever reason they like. I was stopped once (“routine check, sir”), They were incredibly courteous and when all was found in order, the guy actually saluted me on my way.

]]> By: Tomás http://www.notesfromspain.com/2008/08/18/more-spanish-car-safety-madness-the-itv/comment-page-1/#comment-49941 Tomás Tue, 02 Sep 2008 16:14:14 +0000 http://www.notesfromspain.com/2008/08/18/more-spanish-car-safety-madness-the-itv/#comment-49941 A tip: The Guardia Civil will NEVER stop you for a broken light. And if they do, they can't fine you, and they're very stupid as well. Why? Because it's legal requirement to carry a set of spare lights in your car, but it is not a legal requirement to KNOW HOW to replace it. In fact, if police stops you and asks you about the non-functional light, and you tell them that you haven't replaced it because you don't know how to do it and it was just fused on the trip (regardless of wether this is true or not), THEY are required by law to replace it by you. Conclusion: They will never stop you, because they don't want to have to replace your light. Funny but true :-) A tip: The Guardia Civil will NEVER stop you for a broken light. And if they do, they can’t fine you, and they’re very stupid as well.

Why? Because it’s legal requirement to carry a set of spare lights in your car, but it is not a legal requirement to KNOW HOW to replace it.

In fact, if police stops you and asks you about the non-functional light, and you tell them that you haven’t replaced it because you don’t know how to do it and it was just fused on the trip (regardless of wether this is true or not), THEY are required by law to replace it by you.

Conclusion: They will never stop you, because they don’t want to have to replace your light.

Funny but true :-)

]]> By: mateo http://www.notesfromspain.com/2008/08/18/more-spanish-car-safety-madness-the-itv/comment-page-1/#comment-49854 mateo Tue, 02 Sep 2008 11:11:42 +0000 http://www.notesfromspain.com/2008/08/18/more-spanish-car-safety-madness-the-itv/#comment-49854 You may leave with the broken bulb, but if the police sees you, they will usually stop you and make you change it (they even help you do it). If you don't have the spare bulb, you get a couple of fines. And 'inadequate lighting' also gets you 2 points off of your driving licence. You may leave with the broken bulb, but if the police sees you, they will usually stop you and make you change it (they even help you do it). If you don’t have the spare bulb, you get a couple of fines. And ‘inadequate lighting’ also gets you 2 points off of your driving licence.

]]> By: Pepino http://www.notesfromspain.com/2008/08/18/more-spanish-car-safety-madness-the-itv/comment-page-1/#comment-46246 Pepino Wed, 27 Aug 2008 11:07:46 +0000 http://www.notesfromspain.com/2008/08/18/more-spanish-car-safety-madness-the-itv/#comment-46246 I did my first bout of real driving in Spain last week, and found it to be a doddle. On the motorways, everyone kept to the right except when overtaking, which they would do and then move over afterwards. No one ever flashed me from behind on single carriageways (which I expected to happen if I stuck to the speed limit) and even the odd person waved me out of junctions in heavy traffic. I was pleasantly surprised by the whole experience. Thinking back to car maintenance, I used to have a beat-up Nova SR back when they were still cool. I drove it into the ground with no thought for maintenance. When I took it for it´s MOT, they told me the brakes were worn beyond the pads and were grinding into the wheel, and the suspension was so screwed that, when they later went to fix it, they had to use a sledgehammer to break the wheel off the axis. It cost a fortune, waaaay more than the car was worth! I´m a bit more careful these days, but I must admit, my approach to car maintenance is still a case of "just turn the radio up a bit"! That seems to solve any squeaks and grinding sounds! :-) PS. I ditched my last car last year, and feel quite liberated without it, which is ironic when you think about it :-) I did my first bout of real driving in Spain last week, and found it to be a doddle. On the motorways, everyone kept to the right except when overtaking, which they would do and then move over afterwards. No one ever flashed me from behind on single carriageways (which I expected to happen if I stuck to the speed limit) and even the odd person waved me out of junctions in heavy traffic. I was pleasantly surprised by the whole experience.

Thinking back to car maintenance, I used to have a beat-up Nova SR back when they were still cool. I drove it into the ground with no thought for maintenance. When I took it for it´s MOT, they told me the brakes were worn beyond the pads and were grinding into the wheel, and the suspension was so screwed that, when they later went to fix it, they had to use a sledgehammer to break the wheel off the axis. It cost a fortune, waaaay more than the car was worth!

I´m a bit more careful these days, but I must admit, my approach to car maintenance is still a case of “just turn the radio up a bit”! That seems to solve any squeaks and grinding sounds! :-)

PS. I ditched my last car last year, and feel quite liberated without it, which is ironic when you think about it :-)

]]> By: Anna http://www.notesfromspain.com/2008/08/18/more-spanish-car-safety-madness-the-itv/comment-page-1/#comment-45639 Anna Tue, 26 Aug 2008 03:50:40 +0000 http://www.notesfromspain.com/2008/08/18/more-spanish-car-safety-madness-the-itv/#comment-45639 Ben, I posted a really exciting comment with a link to the annual EU car accident reports (lots of statistics - yay!) but I think it got eaten by your spam blocker ... I'll see if I can find the link again. In a nutshell, the Spanish stats showed driving in Spain wasn't too deadly, although the UK and Scandinavian countries were the safest. Ben, I posted a really exciting comment with a link to the annual EU car accident reports (lots of statistics – yay!) but I think it got eaten by your spam blocker … I’ll see if I can find the link again. In a nutshell, the Spanish stats showed driving in Spain wasn’t too deadly, although the UK and Scandinavian countries were the safest.

]]> By: Anna http://www.notesfromspain.com/2008/08/18/more-spanish-car-safety-madness-the-itv/comment-page-1/#comment-43246 Anna Thu, 21 Aug 2008 07:29:48 +0000 http://www.notesfromspain.com/2008/08/18/more-spanish-car-safety-madness-the-itv/#comment-43246 Can I disagree with point 4? I'm an Australian and I just spent 5 weeks touring Spain (and a little of Portugal) by motorbike, and we found Spanish drivers fantastic! They look out for motorbikes, they almost always drive on the correct side of the road and they don't honk their horns just for the fun of it! We had been told all sorts of horror stories and were preparaed for the worst, but we didn't have a single problem. But Italy, that's another story ... If you're a statistics nerd like me you can check out the EU annual report on road safety. http://ec.europa.eu/transport/roadsafety_library/care/doc/safetynet/2007/sn-1-3-asr-2007_final.pdf which shows that, basically, that Malta's the place to be if you want to avoid dying in a car accident :) Can I disagree with point 4? I’m an Australian and I just spent 5 weeks touring Spain (and a little of Portugal) by motorbike, and we found Spanish drivers fantastic! They look out for motorbikes, they almost always drive on the correct side of the road and they don’t honk their horns just for the fun of it! We had been told all sorts of horror stories and were preparaed for the worst, but we didn’t have a single problem.

But Italy, that’s another story …

If you’re a statistics nerd like me you can check out the EU annual report on road safety. http://ec.europa.eu/transport/roadsafety_library/care/doc/safetynet/2007/sn-1-3-asr-2007_final.pdf which shows that, basically, that Malta’s the place to be if you want to avoid dying in a car accident :)

]]> By: Gdot http://www.notesfromspain.com/2008/08/18/more-spanish-car-safety-madness-the-itv/comment-page-1/#comment-42959 Gdot Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:16:47 +0000 http://www.notesfromspain.com/2008/08/18/more-spanish-car-safety-madness-the-itv/#comment-42959 I think your experience shows the good side of the system. Look at mine: last year "minor failure", light from the intermitent bulbs too weak. They looked fine to me so I did not care to change them. This year, with the same bulbs no problem. I think your experience shows the good side of the system. Look at mine: last year “minor failure”, light from the intermitent bulbs too weak. They looked fine to me so I did not care to change them. This year, with the same bulbs no problem.

]]> By: ania http://www.notesfromspain.com/2008/08/18/more-spanish-car-safety-madness-the-itv/comment-page-1/#comment-42816 ania Tue, 19 Aug 2008 18:38:02 +0000 http://www.notesfromspain.com/2008/08/18/more-spanish-car-safety-madness-the-itv/#comment-42816 Surely this shouldnt be a dig at the Spanish "system". Ive had similar experiences in Germany where the nice man from the TUV (German MOT) has let me off with a broken bulb. This post should be complimenting a very thoughtful and reasonable employee working for a sometimes very thoughtless institution. :) Surely this shouldnt be a dig at the Spanish “system”. Ive had similar experiences in Germany where the nice man from the TUV (German MOT) has let me off with a broken bulb. This post should be complimenting a very thoughtful and reasonable employee working for a sometimes very thoughtless institution. :)

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