These are the 20 road traffic offences that Malaga residents are most often fined for by the DGT
Spain's national Directorate-General for Traffic issued 331,520 fines in the province last year
The number of fines issued by Spain's Directorate-General for Traffic authority (DGT) in Malaga province amounted to 331,520 in 2024. This information comes from a report prepared by the drivers' advocacy organisation (AEA). This is 3.7% fewer fines than those registered in 2023, when there were just over 344,100. Meanwhile, in Spain as a whole, penalties rose by 5.14% to more than 5.4 million.
According to the study, the main cause of the fines registered in the province of Malaga is speeding detected by fixed speed cameras: they account for no less than 221,209 fines, although they are down by 10.5% year-on-year. In second place are the penalties for speeding detected by mobile radars: there are nearly 32,000 and they are up by more than 70% compared to 2023.
The third reason for penalties is not having passed the mandatory vehicle inspection test or driving after an unfavourable diagnosis. The two together accounted for 27,433 fines (down about 5.5% year-on-year).
No driving licence or insurance
Last year, there were 7,472 fines issued in the province for lacking or having an invalid driving licence or permit, practically the same as a year earlier. To this figure must be added the more than 1,200 fines for vehicles lacking a permit. In addition, 569 fines were imposed for not having a valid driving licence, e.g. the licence has been obtained abroad, without the authorisation to drive in Spain. Meanwhile, more than 5,000 fines were imposed for driving without insurance - an increase of almost 9% compared to a year earlier. To these must be added another 3,500 for not having insurance - a year-on-year increase of more than 17%.
Driving while using a mobile phone was the reason for around 5,000 fines in 2024 (down slightly, by almost 2.4% compared to 2023). For using visual devices, such as navigation systems, the authorities issued a total of 22 fines in Malaga. These are few, but almost double the number from a year earlier.
The number of fines issued for not wearing a seatbelt exceeded 4,000 last year, with an increase of 12.25% on a year earlier. Close to this figure are fines for failure to identify the driver, i.e. when the owner of the vehicle does not communicate who has committed a traffic offence. In 2024, this happened on almost 3,700 occasions.
Positive alcohol and drug tests
Another important reason for traffic fines is driving under the influence of alcohol: there were 3,113 in the province last year, although this is 7.5% fewer than a year earlier. On the other hand, there was a 65% increase in fines for refusing to submit to alcohol and drug tests, with a total of 46 last year. Fines for drug offences also rose by around 60% to almost 2,000 in Malaga in 2024.
In addition, the number of fines for modifying a vehicle in violation of the regulations was more than 2,200.
Improper behaviour was the reason for 875 fines last year; negligent driving for 729; running stop or give way signs for 700; irregular stops or parking for 644; using headphones for 627; bad overtaking or problems with lighting for more than 500; and reckless driving or driving in the wrong direction, disobedience to orders or signals from traffic officers for 400.
