Drivers may be paying ‘illegal fines’: DGT revokes €400 fine after error on A-7

Spain’s Directorate General of Traffic, or DGT, has backtracked on two fines that were issued to a driver on the A-7 motorway between San Roque and Algeciras. The DGT reached the decision after receiving a complaint from the driver, who claimed the signage indicated a limit of 100 kilometres per hour, whereas the average speed camera’s radar had a limit of 80 kilometres per hour.

DGT issues ‘illegal’ fines to driver on two occasions

The DGT had originally fined the driver €400 in total; €300 in one case and €100 in the second. The driver, an employee of the company Arreza Seguros, received the fines after passing through the section and being detected by the average speed camera on two separate occasions, on September 22 and October 15 of last year. The driver contested the fines, calling the sanctions “illegal.”

Arreza Seguros has cautioned that there may be “many people who are paying these fines that are illegal” due to the discrepancy of the speed camera and sign on this section of the A-7 motorway.

After analyzing the incident, the DGT ruled in favour of the driver: “In view of the actions contained in the file, it is concluded that in the case under examination, the imposition of the sanction referred to therein is not appropriate, and therefore its revocation is agreed ex officio, in accordance with the provisions of article 109.1 of Law 39/2015, of October 2, on the Common Administrative Procedure of Public Administrations,” stated the DGT in both resolutions, which were dated March 5, 2026.

Speed cameras: Where to watch out for them

According to the DGT, there are up to seven average speed cameras in the province of Cadiz, including the one on the A-7, the N-340, the CA-35, the CA-33, the A-48, the A-384, and the A-2001 motorways. They are a system of cameras that continuously record and identify the licence plates of each vehicle that passes through the section, calculating its speed. If the average speed exceeds the limit, a traffic violation report is automatically registered and a speeding ticket is issued.

At the tail end of February, the DGT announced the installation of 33 new speed cameras. The traffic authority also reassured drivers that, during the first weeks of the cameras’ implementation, the drivers would not be fined. Now that the grace period has ended, drivers can no longer get away with only a slap on the wrist.

Drivers can check the most up-to-date and complete official inventory of all fixed speed cameras and average speed camera stretches at DGT’s official website, www.dgt.es, where downloadable lists are periodically updated. Drivers can also check the interactive map from the DGT below for new additions and roadworks.