There are 2.5 million cars on roads without insurance or ITV in Spain

According to data from the Spanish Association of Collaborating Entities of the Administration in the Technical Inspection of Vehicles AECA-ITV, there are currently more than two and a half million vehicles circulating on Spanish roads without ITV or insurance; most of which, 68%, are passenger cars. This has now attracted the attention of the authorities who have already put the wheels in motion to catch offenders.

Driving without a valid ITV is considered a serious offense, which, according to the current legal regime, can lead to a fine of 200 or 500 euros; and driving without insurance is a very serious offense, which can imply a fine from 601 euros to 3,000 euros, depending on the uninsured time period and the reiteration of the offense.

The fact that almost 8% of all vehicles in Spain has neither the ITV nor the current insurance, represents a danger for all road users. But it is even more so, that 40% of vehicles don’t have a current ITV. This means that this percentage of vehicles may not be complying with the minimum safety standards and can have a direct impact on the considerable increase both in road accidents and in the number of injuries and deaths in traffic accidents.

The ITV is not a simple procedure; it is an independent evaluation that allows detecting problems that may pose a risk to road safety and the environment. This needs to be understood. Vehicle technical inspections save lives, either by preventing traffic accidents or by reducing environmental pollution. Despite this, thousands of drivers are still unaware of its importance.

The proposal to solve the situation is very simple: just as the ITV stations do not require a current insurance policy for the test, the insurance companies should also require that the vehicle has ITV before renewing insurance policies. In this way, with total safety, the number of vehicles that are on the roads without complying with the required road safety and environmental conditions would be reduced.

The relationship between vehicle insurance and ITV is so obvious that, in some cases, it can affect the policy coverage if the vehicle involved in the accident has an expired ITV, so if the accident is due to a mechanical failure, it could have been avoided if the vehicle had the inspection in order, and the insurance company could even refuse to cover any compensation.