One fine every five seconds: Spain's DGT breaks all records with six million penalties in 2025
Valencia, Cádiz and Alicante all feature in the top five most fined provinces in Spain
The Spanish traffic authorities issued more fines last year than at any point in recorded history, with the DGT handing out over six million penalties to drivers in 2025 for the first time since records began in 1961.
The figures, published in the DGT's 2025 General Statistical Yearbook, show that 6,106,354 complaints were filed last year, working out at an average of 16,730 per day, nearly 700 per hour and one every 5.2 seconds.
To put that in context, it took until 1970 for annual fines to exceed two million, 1974 to pass three million and 2008 to reach four million. Five million was first exceeded in 2022, and last year the six million barrier was broken for the first time.
It's worth noting that the figures exclude Catalonia and the Basque Country, both of which have devolved powers over traffic enforcement and run their own systems independently, so the actual number of fines doled out nationwide is even higher.
Regionally, Andalucía led the way with 1,526,897 fines, followed by the Valencian Community with 939,573, the Community of Madrid with 721,465 and Castilla y León with 601,184.
At a provincial level, Madrid topped the list with 721,465 penalties, ahead of Valencia with 468,121, Cádiz with 369,586, Alicante with 339,000 and Málaga with 282,163, making it a particularly costly year for drivers across the east and south of the country.
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