LEVANTE LIFESTYLE

MOTORING MATTERS - TOP TIPS

By Central Motors

If your care is diesel then read on.

Modern diesel cars have complex fuel systems which are expensive to repair.

We are finding that many customers with diesel cars with fuel-related problems are putting the cheaper diesel in their tanks. Cheaper diesel does not save you money. It causes a lot of damage to engines, fuel pumps, injectors and the common rails. This is because cheap diesel contains many impurities and doesn’t contain enough lubricant.

So to save yourself expensive repair bills and the inconvenience of your car being off the road, use only Premium or Gold Star diesel.
Happy Motoring!

PRISON SENTENCES FOR SERIOUS OFFENCES
Congress definitively approved the reform to the Penal Code which classifies the most serious driving offences as a crime, punishable with prison sentences, large fines and bans on getting behind the wheel of a vehicle.

Since 2nd December, driving with more than 1.2 grams of alcohol in the bloodstream or under the influence of drugs, and doing more than 60kph over the permitted speed limit - more than 200kph on a motorway, more than 180kph on a conventional highway and more than 110kph on a road in a built up area – has carried a penalty of three to six month prison sentences or a 6-12 month fine and up to 90 days community service. Offenders could also lose their licence for a minimum of one year and a maximum of four.

Refusing to submit to a breath or drugs text carries a penalty of six months to one year in prison and the withdrawal of a driving licence for between one and four years.

Driving after losing all the points a licence or after the licence has expired means three to six months in prison or a 12-24 month fine and up to 90 days community work, and placing obstacles or slippery materials on a road or tampering with signalling in a way which could represent a serious risk to traffic carries a penalty of six months to two years behind bars or a fine of up to 24 months.
A further offence falling into the category of most serious offences is driving without having a licence at all. There are currently an estimated 30,000 drivers in Spain who do not have a licence, who now have until 1st May 2008 to acquire one.

The reform outlines sentences of between six months and two years for reckless driving with risks lives, and of between two and four years for reckless driving “with a conscious disregard for others’ lives”, along with the loss of the licence for between six and 10 years.

Of the 4,000 deaths on Spanish roads last year, 40 per cent were linked to speeding or the consumption of drugs or alcohol.

At the same Parliamentary session the Lower Chamber gave the green light to modifications introduced by the Senate which include an amendment calling on the Government to revise highway signalling and the regulations governing speed limits to promote road safety.

CLAMPDOWN ON DRIVING DISTRACTIONS
A special national Traffic Department campaign led to 208 drivers in Almería being stopped and for actions classified as distractions between 12th and 25th November. Of these 197 were stopped for using a mobile phone.

The office carries a penalty of a 150 euro fine and three points off the driving licence.
The provincial municipalities taking part in the campaign were Almería, Roquetas de Mar, El Ejido, Vícar, Berja, Níjar, Mojácar, Antas and Huércal de Almería.

The countrywide campaign was backed up with radio and newspaper advertising and messages on highway information boards.

ON-LINE TRAFFIC INFORMATION
The Traffic Department is offering up-to-date traffic information on its website: www.dgt.es.
The web page makes use of Google Maps to allow motorists to check out traffic density, traffic flow, weather conditions and so on via online camera images.

The website includes the option of accessing the contents in English or French. It also gives users the option of personalising the page.