Tanis8472
Guru
Mine is Hola
Helmets in Spain: €100 fine
- Thread starter jay clock
- Start date
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smutchin
Cat 6 Racer
- Location
- The Red Enclave
If you don't normally wear a helmet, it doesn't really make sense to buy one specially, seeing as the cost could easily exceed the 100 Euros you may or may not have to pay for the privilege of not wearing one. In theory, I suppose you could be fined multiple times on a single trip, but that sounds highly unlikely.
I do wear a helmet most of the time these days, so I would just take the one I'm currently using - which fortunately is very light and well ventilated, so unlikely to boil my head.
ThompsonCrowley
Active Member
- Location
- Barcelona
Yeah, I thin Spain has a lot of laws that aren't enforced. I've been living in Barcelona for a couple of weeks now and most of the cyclists I see are without helmet. Plus there's supposed to be this law that dogs must wear muzzles on trains, again, I haven't seen one muzzled dog. I don't really see the point in making the laws? It's a bit confusing as to what you should and shouldn't do. Best be on the safe side I guess....
Very complex
IIRC there were exclusions such as hot weather, cycling up hill, and within the boundaries of some towns or cities
The Jogger
Legendary Member
- Location
- Spain
I don't wear one here but when I get my place in Spain next month I'll do as the Spanish do when I'm over there I suppose.....
I did a weeks touring in Andalusia with @rb58 and @Trickedem in September. I was helmet less the whole trip. We passed a good few Spanish coppers in the road. Not one batted an eyelid. Got a good few friendly waves from them though.
Just a point though that I have never felt safer on the roads then in Spain. Drivers there are absolutely awesome, always waiting patiently and passing very wide. Whether in town or in country. Far better I found then French drivers even.
Just a point though that I have never felt safer on the roads then in Spain. Drivers there are absolutely awesome, always waiting patiently and passing very wide. Whether in town or in country. Far better I found then French drivers even.
Dayvo
just passin' through
- Location
- 59° 50′ 5.55″ N, 10° 47′ 41.89″ E
I experienced that several years ago whilst touring there. The lorries were nearer to the other cyclists going in the opposite direction than they were to us.
On that occasion (Dec. 2005), we did wear helmets as we met cyclists coming the other way who told us that they'd been stopped and 'hassled' a bit about being helmetless, and these were Spanish cyclists.
Nigeyy
Legendary Member
- Location
- Massachusetts, USA
Seems simple to me:
i. go and wear a helmet there,
ii. go and not wear a helmet and potentially get fined*, but don't complain about it as you knew and made the decision yourself, or
iii. don't go at all.
I understand that different countries have different laws, and unless there's an urgent safety issue, my take is you should respect their laws as you are a guest in their country. You may not agree with them, but hey, it is their laws, even if they may be seemingly trivial, illogical or ineffective.**
*I could easily see given some of the responses here how this could escalate to jail though with a belligerent cop -you get fined, then they say no cycling without a helmet, then you cycle as soon as they are out of sight, until you get round that corner...
** full disclosure here
went to Ontario cycling where I think a bell is required, I was fully intending to get one, but just forgot. Had I been stopped and fined, I'd have just accepted it as my fault and moved on. Though again, I wonder if some of these relatively trivial laws are subject to police officers having bad days or people giving them a hard time....
i. go and wear a helmet there,
ii. go and not wear a helmet and potentially get fined*, but don't complain about it as you knew and made the decision yourself, or
iii. don't go at all.
I understand that different countries have different laws, and unless there's an urgent safety issue, my take is you should respect their laws as you are a guest in their country. You may not agree with them, but hey, it is their laws, even if they may be seemingly trivial, illogical or ineffective.**
*I could easily see given some of the responses here how this could escalate to jail though with a belligerent cop -you get fined, then they say no cycling without a helmet, then you cycle as soon as they are out of sight, until you get round that corner...
** full disclosure here
went to Ontario cycling where I think a bell is required, I was fully intending to get one, but just forgot. Had I been stopped and fined, I'd have just accepted it as my fault and moved on. Though again, I wonder if some of these relatively trivial laws are subject to police officers having bad days or people giving them a hard time....
robing
Über Member
I agree re Spain. There's often a nice shoulder to cycle on, roads are very quiet especially inland and they pass you wide
Not my experience in France though. I found myself on some narrow roads with no shoulder and lorries would thunder past very close sometimes pulling me into their slipstream. Not nice at all.
Dave Davenport
Guru
- Location
- Hampshire
Agree with that, we've done about eight weeks in total touring in Spain and the drivers have been the best of anywhere we've been. We're doing home to Alicante next summer, we've not had a problem being helmetless so far, so I think we'll carry on taking our chances (I promise not to moan if we do get nicked).
I had an old lightweight one stuck on the top of the rack. It weighs virtually nothing and I binned it before coming home. I'm sure el rozzers would let you off. Or take a chance!
Agree with others, Spain is a really relaxing place to tour, one day on an interior C road, only 1 car passed me in an afternoon! A lot of B & C roads are not well maintained and along with road signs that tell lies, the Autovias get the traffic. 
If they day comes that I get a 100 euro helmet fine in Spain, I'll be ok with that, it'll work out at about 50 cents per day over my touring time there.
If they day comes that I get a 100 euro helmet fine in Spain, I'll be ok with that, it'll work out at about 50 cents per day over my touring time there.
