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Spain - Yellow Jackets


Quillan
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I am told that driving laws have now changed in Spain. If you breakdown you should exit the car and wait at the side of the road for recovery (by whom I wonder) but you must also wear a yellow luminous waistcoat (as should all your passengers).

Now I had a look on the AA ( www.theaa.co.uk ) site this morning and theres no mention of this there but then I visited the RAC website (http://www.rac.co.uk/travelservices/european_advisor/spain/) which mentions the jackets being compulsory but not when to wear them. The chap in Quillan market was selling them for €5 each.

Perhaps somebody could clear up when you have to wear them.

As a side issue I remember there was a debate on having a GB sticker on your car and I quote from the RAC website

"UK registered vehicles displaying Euro-plates (circle of 12 stars above the national identifier on blue background) are no longer obliged to affix a GB sticker to the rear of the vehicle when driving in France. A GB sign is still required when travelling outside the European Union (Andorra for example)."

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Sorry, can't quote chapter and verse but my understanding is that since January 2004 you have to wear them if broken down on roads outside of urban areas. We were down in Spain in late summer in the camper for about three weeks and a large number of local cars had them on the back of the driver and front passenger seats - but we didn't see any in use. We were also advised that it was an offence not to carry them.  
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And don`t forget the 2 obligatory red triangles!

It didn`t become a forcable law until the end of October, when It was in it`s trial period the man selling the `gear`on our local market had a newspaper article....but I couldn`t get near for the crowd,I shall have a search through the Costa Brava news later.

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[quote]And don`t forget the 2 obligatory red triangles! It didn`t become a forcable law until the end of October, when It was in it`s trial period the man selling the `gear`on our local market had a newspap...[/quote]

Acording to the RAC website it's two for a Spainish reg car but others only need one. But then if the AA website (no mention of yellow jacket) is anything to go by both may not be totally up to date.
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Hi there

Just got back from a week in sunny Spain.  You need to have the jacket in case you break down.  It is not an offence not to have it, but it is an offence to walk on motorway without it on.

Leclerc Auto sell nifty little box with 2 triangles and a jacket for not many euros (can't remember how many exactly) you would however need second jacket if passenger wanted to walk on motorway!!

I am not particularly nervous driver but I didn't even want to DRIVE on Spanish motorways let alone walk.  Too scary for words, didn't know people could drive that fast.  Decided to go across country using money saved on motorway tolls to spend nights in hotel instead.

Are you off on holiday?

Maggi

 

 

 

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[quote]Hello I have fancy dress outfit. It is a very large canary suit. It stands about 2.25m high and is luminous yellow with very large red feet, it also has flashing red eyes. The question is do you thin...[/quote]

I don't think you need bother with asking a border policeman just wear it on the motorway when you break down and if you get prosecuted wear it in court to show the nice judge that it is much more appropriate than a silly little yellow jacket 

Weedon

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[quote]Hi there Just got back from a week in sunny Spain. You need to have the jacket in case you break down. It is not an offence not to have it, but it is an offence to walk on motorway without it on. ...[/quote]

Holiday, you must be joking.

Room number 4 on the go with en-suite and hydromassage facilities, planting mature trees in the garden and have just finished building a 6 X 5M extension to the terrace with pagoda and landscaping. On top of that I'm off to hospital to have a trapped nerve sorted out in my groin on the...... wait for it........ 24th December and will need a week on my arse to recuperate. Oh what fun then we open on the 8th January for our first guests of 2005. Still living anywhere other than London is a holiday really I guess.

Still I have quite a lot of wine tasting to get through for next years wine list, that should keep me busy for a while.

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You have to wear the yellow vest WHENEVER YOU GET OUT OF YOUR CAR ON THE ROAD OUTSIDE URBAN AREAS, i.e every motorway, countryroad etc. The vest must be in an accessible place so you can put it on before you get out of the car. You also have to have TWO TRIANGLES, NO MATTER WHERE YOUR CAR IS FROM.

Here's a story from my physio: He was driving from here to Spain to do some shopping, and he was stopped on a country road just outside a town. The policman asked if he had his vest and he said:'yes'. Then the policeman asked if he had the two triangles, and he replied 'yes'. The policeman then asked him to show the triangles and my physio got out of the car to show the triangles in the boot of his car. Now, get this, he was fined because he didn't put on his yellow vest when he got out of the car in order to show the triangles!

There's a story for small-mindedness!
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Everyone round here keeps their yellow vest on the backs of the front seats(like you might hang your jacket over a chair in a restaurant), with the amount of sun we get down here(even mid winter) If I did this with our jackets ,I am sure our kids would go blind staring at that luminous colour......ours are screwed up in the book holder thingies at the back of the seats...we have a wonderful assortment with Mr O being a HGV driver.....but was reading an article on this yesterday and shock horror they are not legal unless they conform to certain EU standards!!
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