Torrevieja’s Mayoral car caught speeding

Everyone seems to know someone who has been caught by by the Directorate General of Traffic’s (DGT) radar on the CV-905 in Torrevieja

And now it’s the turn of the car assigned to the Torrevieja City Council offices. On July 9th, a sophisticated speed camera installed at kilometre 7 of this route caught the Skoda Superb speeding. The official driver faces a fine for a small offence. One hundred Euros. This will cost the Treasury 50 euros, plus the discount.

Office Hours

The fine has generated—this being Spain—a matching administrative file at the City Council, with many sequences. The most pertinent is a report containing a proposal for “recognition of payment obligation” signed by the Director General of Economy, Finance, Youth, and Heritage, indicating that the DGT has requested that the local administration identify the driver who was travelling “at a speed exceeding the legally established speed limit.” In a subsequent message, the municipality identifies the “penalised” official, and the credit retention is resolved with the related item and payment at a discount. The Comptroller’s Office and Treasury are being asked to accelerate the payment so that it can enter the discounted period.

Fifty km

Despite the fact that this is not an urban region, it is easy to break the speed limit, which is set at 50 kilometres per hour. The road is two lanes in each direction and runs straight, with residential sections and pedestrian crossings at each roundabout. The route has an average daily traffic density of 35,000 vehicles and serves as the primary entry and exit point for the city. Drivers who have been warned abruptly slow down when they reach the speed camera and then resume normal speed until the next roundabout—they must surpass 14 km within ten kilometres.

The Skoda Superb, registered in 2022, is not one of the luxury vehicles flaunted by Vega Baja mayors prior to the housing crisis, but it is not bad: sleek and discreet, the Polish brand’s car costs 46,000 euros. It was specified with 190 horsepower, a top speed of 235 kilometres per hour, and tinted windows, among other customary “extras” on high-end vehicles. Of course, it had a reliable diesel engine. And it has already been penalised on several occasions.

Deputation

In this supposedly parsimonious mindset, the municipality chose the identical vehicle used by the Provincial Council to transport its public officers. This occurred during the last stretch of the previous term. When the local vehicle fleet renewal contracts showed this car as assigned to the Mayor’s Office, Eduardo Dolón quickly assured us that he would not use it. When the new fleet was unveiled in August 2022, the controlling team chose to conceal the new Skoda. It never appeared. It is identified as Asset Number 28 in the municipal vehicle inventory, “assigned to the Mayor’s Office.”

Time has reduced the likelihood of the issue being contentious, as the councilman was already under fire during his first term for driving 300-meter excursions in his official car, an ancient but spectacular Volkswagen Phaenton inherited from Pedro Hernández’s mayoralty.

Thus, the new official vehicle was teased for some time until close after the 2023 elections.

However, the Mayor softened, and his pledge vanished: it is the vehicle he uses for non-private visits. And it’s frequently available at the base of City Hall. However, it is also used by councillors who represent the City Council during official events held outside of the city. For business in the city centre, they frequently use vehicles allotted to several departments. However, the Skoda is not an invisible car. The DGT is well aware of this.

Author: Derek Appleton