How To Recover Your Card Points?
The scoring system complements the monetary penalties contemplated in Spanish traffic laws. Whereas the fines for money punish by committed infraction, the system of points is directed to penalize the recurrence of infractions. Of course there is a way to recover the card points …
The points of the card are essential, because if we lose them we will all be out of circulation for a good season. They are 6 months without a license for the ordinary driver and up to 3 months for professionals who work with means of transport.
To this type of sanctions must be added the most serious of all: the fact that the situation may arise where it is necessary to obtain a driver’s license again.
In any case, if we still have some points, all is not lost. The administration also establishes ways to recover the points, although many Spaniards do not know anything about it. Let’s see what this is all about.
We can recover the points by completing a road awareness course
The first requirement to be able to recover card points is not to have lost them in their entirety. From here, there are some possibilities that we can choose; the first is to complete a ‘road awareness and re-education’ course.
The voluntary learning module lasts just 12 hours. However, we cannot save our score every time we want with the course, but private users can only take it every two years. Drivers by profession have the option of doing it on an annual basis.
The course has a cost that is stipulated depending on the area in which we are. For example, in many cases the complete course can cost 405.22 euros. There is an offer of partial and complete courses and an additional cycle.
The other option: a proven good behavior for two years
If we have already lost some points, the right thing to do is to have an impeccable behavior, to carry everything legally required in the vehicle and to avoid new infractions. Two years without a new final sanction will allow to recover all the points ; That is what is established in the regulations.
As we can see, the system is made to punish repetitive bad behavior, but also to reward a civic attitude on the road. But … How is the process when we lose all the points?
The total loss of the score leads to the processing of a new license
We already know that losing all the points means being off the roads for three to six months. The DGT informs the sanctioned driver of the revocation of his license and his obligation to participate in a 24-hour awareness course.
To check if we are fit to drive again, we must pass a specialized theory test. It must be requested directly at the Provincial Traffic Headquarters; if we pass it, we will recover the license, but only with 8 points in favor.
Penalties and points
Much better than getting your points back is to avoid losing them entirely. For this, it is important to know what the scope of each sanction is. Exceeding a bit in speed can take a couple of points, but serious incidents mean the loss of half of the total.
Offenses such as having a BAC higher than 0.50 milligrams per liter, or driving under the influence of narcotics are very serious penalties.
These types of penalties carry the loss of 6 points, which is a serious risk for a person with a license of only 8 points. The same happens when refusing to take the drug or alcohol test.
We also lose this score when participating in illegal races, having radar jammers or if we significantly exceed the established limit. Other offenses such as leaving the license at home, harassing cyclists or exceeding the legal distance, will cost us 4 points.
Driving while manipulating the smartphone, or with headphones on, means the loss of 3 points. Although it seems that the system is quite strict, it is a way to take care of the integrity of the drivers.
