Thousands Of Drivers In Spain Will Need To Retake Their Vehicle ITV Test
Spain News
Published: 22 September 2021 15:52 CET
Thousands of drivers in Spain will soon receive a letter through their doors from the country’s traffic authority, the DGT (Dirección General de Tráfico).
However, in many cases, this won’t be for a traffic-related infringement. It will be a notification that the driver must retake the vehicle's ITV test.
If you do receive such a request, it will be due to a modification to Royal Decree 265/2021, which was approved on April 13 and published in the Official State Gazette (BOE). It is one of a number of new ITV regulations that came into force from June 1.
The decree applies to any vehicle that has been repaired after it was declared to be a ‘total loss’ by an insurance company following an accident.
The decree states that any vehicle that was declared a ‘total loss’ must retake another ITV inspection at further expense to the owner to ascertain that it is in fact roadworthy.
When is a vehicle considered to be a total loss?
A vehicle is deemed to be a total loss when the cost to repair the vehicle after an accident outweighs the current value of the vehicle. Some insurance firms may even consider it a total loss if the cost to repair it is 75 per cent or more.
However, some owners insist on repairing the vehicle regardless, with some ultimately not considered to be roadworthy even after they have been repaired.
So the new guidelines from the DGT aim to check these vehicles to make sure they really are considered to be safe to drive on the roads and not a danger to the owners and other road users.
What if the vehicle fails the ITV test?
The new decree states that in the event that the vehicle does fail the ITV, it must be repaired and then retested within two months to establish whether it may be driven on Spanish roads. If the vehicle does not pass the second test, it must undergo further repairs until it does pass.
If an owner fails to comply with the new regulations, a fine of between €200 and €500 may be handed out.
Furthermore, the vehicle may only legally travel on the road to the workshop, and then to the ITV testing station within those two months. If a driver is caught on a route other than these, a fine of €200 will apply.
If the vehicle subsequently fails further inspections due to serious defects, it will be considered unroadworthy and may not be driven to the ITV centre. Instead, a tow truck would need to be used.
Any driver found driving their vehicle on the roads even if it is directly to the workshop risks being fined €500.
Learn more about the Spanish ITV test.
Source
https://www.laopiniondemalaga.es/motor/conduccion/2021/09/21/llega-carta-dgt-deberas-repetir-57525391.html
https://www.elespanol.com/reportajes/dgt-prepara-carta-sorpresa-miles-conductores-para-pasar-antes-itv-seo/612439848_0.html
https://www.euroweeklynews.com/2021/09/21/dgt-send-letters-asking-thousands-of-drivers-to-repeat-the-itv-test/
Image Credit: DGT
