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What are the speed limit tolerances in Spain?

I try to be very careful re speed limits. I am to visit Lanzarote soon after 8 years. I read the Spanish are hot on speeding, for good reasons it must be said. Is there an up to date speed camera map on the internet? I have found a site, SCDB info, like google earth, which appears to show camera positions and speed limits. Very helpful. Is it the most up to date site?
Another site suggests that for speed limits between 30 and 90 kph there the cameras allow a small 7kph "tolerance", that is just under 5 mph, so if the limit is 60 kph, the camera will not trigger till 67 kph is breached. Do you know if this is right?
Finally, am I right that at least for very moderate breaches, say 70 kph in a 60 kph limit there are no penalty points added to your UK licence? So you do not need to inform your insurers, just pay up and be more careful. The Spanish seem to work in reverse, you start with full points on a "clean" licence, at least if you are local, and lose points at higher speeds till you use them up and lose the licence for a bit.

Asked on 29 November 2024 by edward russell

Answered by David Ross
We have no personal experience of SCDB so we cannot vouch for its quality or accuracy, but it has a TrustPilot score of 3.1 which suggests that users have mixed experiences. We would suggest using a mobile app such as Google Maps or Waze which provides live locations of speed cameras, and although it will not necessarily be comprehensive it will at least provide some guidance.

All speed cameras have some degree of tolerance to allow for the accuracy of the device itself as well as the accuracy of your speedometer, but we would advise not to assume any specific tolerance provided is correct and to remain at or below the posted limit. At present there is no system for the majority of European countries to enforce points on your UK licence, but you may need to inform your insurer that you have received a speeding fine depending on the terms and conditions of your European cover.
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