GPS and autocom in Spain

TonyIOW

Guest
Hi all,

I've been reading that the Spanish police are recently taking a dim view of gps on bikes and autocom headsets in helmets - particularly bike to bike radio comms; and that being caught with them will result in an on the spot fine. :eek:

Does anybody know how literally to interpret this? Is it actually an issue out there?

Since a friend and I are off on our travels there very soon, and we use all that stuff, any reassurance would be gratefully received!!!

Cheers, Tony
 
This is the second time I have heard about this and as I plan to ride the N260 in July I had better find out. Apparently they don't like bike to bike but I can't see what their problem would be with a GPS.
I will ask Spanish Bob!
 
Well I tend to agree with you, that's why I wondered how they "interpret" it in practice.

A friend of mine had initially warned me about it, and I confess to thinking at the time that it was no more than a typical scaremonger type story - then I subsequently read about it on the following site (about half way down, in the section headed "driving regulations and laws")....

http://idealspain.com/Pages/Information/DrivingSpain.htm

Tony
 
Well that is clear enough! No GPS, no bike to bike and no intercom by the looks of things. Bugger them I will go elsewhere!
 
TonyIOW said:
Hi all,

I've been reading that the Spanish police are recently taking a dim view of gps on bikes and autocom headsets in helmets - particularly bike to bike radio comms; and that being caught with them will result in an on the spot fine. :eek:

Does anybody know how literally to interpret this? Is it actually an issue out there?

Since a friend and I are off on our travels there very soon, and we use all that stuff, any reassurance would be gratefully received!!!

Cheers, Tony
Click to expand...

This is from another site - it explains things a little differently!!
"A driver who wears glasses should carry a spare pair with them. Apparatus with a screen which can distract adriver (such as television, video, DVD equipment) are prohibited. This excludes GPS systems. The use of radar detectors is prohibited"

This seems to be slightly more sensible!! Here is the url for more info http://www.solvivienda.com/seccion_living_spain_4748/show_page/6/0 hope this helps
 
Yes, I see what you mean...and that does indeed make more sense. It's hard to believe that gps units mustn't be visible whilst driving, bearing in mind the number of cars that are now being produced with built in sat nav screens! That's the trouble with such websites though; it's hard to know exactly which one to believe!! :nenau Ultimately, I guess we just have to make a common-sense judgement and hope that we won't be stopped by the police out there to test the theory!! Mind you....GPS is one thing, that still leaves the question of autocom and bike to bike comms!!

Tony
 
Just got back from Spain, Portugal, Spain, Andorra, France trip on Friday. Got a 'tug' in a filling station by the Guardia Civil for crossing a white line into the filling station. No sense of camaraderie (they were bike mounted) and I had GPS mounted on the front but they didn't pick up on it. Mind you they didn't have a good look around either.

Suggested I pay a 100 euro fine but let it go after a rather doleful 'sorry' plea.
 
Shenzi said:
This is the second time I have heard about this and as I plan to ride the N260 in July I had better find out. Apparently they don't like bike to bike but I can't see what their problem would be with a GPS.
I will ask Spanish Bob!
Click to expand...

Don't let anything stop you riding the N260, (although I'm sure nothing will) WHAT A ROAD, did it on my Gixer750 a couple of years ago and aim to let the GS loose on it very soon. Enjoy. As for bike mounted GPS, just can't see how they could enforce that really, I doubt if the rumours are correct. My mate is a Solicitor over there so I'll ring him tomorrow and get some info.

JDH
 
Thanks for the info and feedback guys....and it'll be particularly interesting to hear what your solicitor friend has to say JDH. Likewise, in addition to GPS, it'll be good to hear what he says about bike to bike comms.

Cheers, Tony
 
I have just emailed my solicitor in Malaga to see if she has heard anything about this. As soon as she answers I will post again.
 
Luke, could you ask her about bike to bike and headsets too?
Off to Spain in June and would like to know.
Thanks
 
Hi

Is it worth somebody phoning either the Spanish tourist board (if such a thing exists) or the UK Spanish Embassy? That may be the only way to get the definitive answer!!

Adie
 
I tried the Spanish tourist board.....they didn't really know!:blast They sent me some blurb about driving in Spain but it was only in a very general vein and made no mention of these issues.

On a side note however, they were generally very helpful. They wouldn't give specific advice over the phone though, and requested that I email them. I asked them for details of campsites around our intended route, and they sent me tons of great info.... a very detailed detailed map of Spain showing campsite location; an excellent book containing even more details and plenty of other relevant and interesting publications !:thumb2

If you're off out there it's well worth dropping them an email to ask their advice IMO
 
Steve said:
The AA info is over a year old, so may not reflect any recent changes.
Click to expand...

The original quote relating to GPS being illegal in spain came from an article/book published in 2004 so the AA info is at least later than that.
 
Pylie said:
Just got back from Spain, Portugal, Spain, Andorra, France trip on Friday. Got a 'tug' in a filling station by the Guardia Civil for crossing a white line into the filling station. No sense of camaraderie (they were bike mounted) and I had GPS mounted on the front but they didn't pick up on it. Mind you they didn't have a good look around either.

Suggested I pay a 100 euro fine but let it go after a rather doleful 'sorry' plea.
Click to expand...

When you say "crossing the white line" does that mean you can't turn left across the road if there is a solid line in the middle? sounds daft!! I would be interested to hear as I will be travelling there next month....
 
I have been out in Spain since the beginning of June with both Autocom and Garmin Zumo mounted on the bike and have been pulled by both Guarda Civil and Locale Police and neither one of them mentioned the Zumo or the Autocom leads attached to my Tour-X. They both had a good look around the bike as well as it's the 1150 GSA SE (the better looking and faster one.....!) :hapybnce:
 
Just returned from a flying bird trip to Spain. Whilst there I asked a local Spanish KTM Adventure rider about GPS on bikes. He said they are allowed and showed me where he plugs his in.

Hope this helps.

Mike
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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