Home SECTION III OTHER RULES OF MOVEMENT CHAPTER II SEAT BELT, HELMET AND OTHER SAFETY ELEMENTS Article 119 Exemptions

Article 119 Exemptions

by Mark Nolan

1. Notwithstanding the provisions of article 117, the following may drive without seat belts or other approved restraint systems:

 

A) Drivers when involved in a reversing or parking manoeuvre.

 

B) Persons with a certificate of exemption for serious or disabled medical reasons. This certificate must be presented when required by any agent of the traffic authority.

 

Any certificate of this type issued by the competent authority of a Member State of the European Union will be valid in Spain accompanied by its official translation.

 

One of the most common mistakes when travelling through Spain with a medical certificate that exempts us from the use of a seat belt or helmet for medical reasons, is that this document is written in another language, and its owner does NOT translate it into Spanish, so that when the police stop them, the officer doesn´t understand it, and so cannot accept that it as valid, thus having to apply a sanction for not using it. Remember that to be valid in Spain, the certificate must be issued by a doctor and be translated into Spanish.

 

Remember that if you have a problem where you cannot use a seat belt or helmet, you will need an official certificate from a doctor where you specify it clearly and concisely.

 

In Spain there are no exemptions of a religious nature for not using a helmet, so if you are going to ride a motorcycle you should always make use it.

 

2.The exemption will also apply when referring to driving in populated areas, but in no case when done on motorways or conventional roads, to:

 

A) Taxi drivers when they are on duty. Also, when they drive in urban traffic or urban areas of large cities, they can transport people whose height does not reach 135 centimetres without using an approved restraint device adapted to their size and weight, as long as they occupy a rear seat.

 

B) Multi-drop distributors, when carrying out successive operations of loading and unloading merchandise in places located at a short distance from each other.

 

C) People who accompany a student or apprentice during the teaching of driving or aptitude tests and are in charge of the additional controls of the car, taking responsibility for the safety of the traffic.

 

3. Persons with a certificate of exemption for serious medical reasons, issued in accordance with the provisions of section 1.b) above, shall be exempted from the provisions of article 118.1. This certificate must state its period of validity and be signed by a collegiate member in office. You must also carry or incorporate the symbol established by current regulations.

 

Remember that certificates issued in Spain must incorporate a validity date, the signature of the doctor who issued it, in addition to the official symbol that exempts the person from the use of the helmet or seat belt.  

Since 2006 it is mandatory for pregnant women to use a seat belt. In these images we show you how to place it correctly.       

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