fines

smoking and vaping prohibited in company cars and fines of 200 euros

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16 years later, the Anti-Tobacco Law is updated after years of rumors. It does so with substantial changes such as equating vapes with traditional cigarettes. And also with changes that affect mobility. Because smoking or vaping while driving will be prohibited… in some very specific cases. Forbidden. This is what the Government has agreed that with the update of the Anti-Tobacco Law approved by the Council of Ministersfour big changes have been confirmed: Vapes and cigarettes are equated, so both products will be prohibited in the same spaces. Nicotine pouches are also equalized. Consumption by minors is prohibited (previously only sales to minors were prohibited). The consumption of vapes and cigarettes is prohibited in new spaces or those that did not have homogeneous national regulation, such as terracesplatforms or swimming pools, among others. And the car? Indeed, smoking or vaping in the car will also be prohibited. Although only in those that are used in the professional environment. That is, they will be prohibited in taxis and vehicles with a VTC license but also in company shared cars. The prohibition only affects when they provide a service for the transportation of passengers but will not be effective when the professional vehicle is always driven by the same person. That is, in a taxi or VTC you cannot smoke or vape. Nor in a vehicle for the transport of goods in which workers rotate, but there is no problem if the vehicle is for the exclusive use of a single person. The fine? The fine for incurring any of the aforementioned infractions will be 200 euros. That is, in the case of a violation in the car it would be equivalent to a penalty for a serious offense. Of course, we must keep in mind that we are talking about a sanction that is imposed by the Anti-Tobacco Law in very specific situations. Smoking in the car is not punished, smoking in some specific vehicles is punishable, so we should not have changes in the Traffic Law. This means that we do not expect modifications in this last text that could lead to the deduction of points. Tobacco and the car. The issue of smoking in the car has been a source of controversy for years. Last year 2022, the sanctions were updated for throwing a cigarette butt from the vehicle, raising the punishment to 500 euros. However, nothing expressly specifies that smoking while driving is prohibited. For years there have been rumors of the possibility of completely prohibiting this activity or limiting it when there are minors inside. However, fines have been limited to those that can be imposed for not paying attention to the wheel or not being able to control the car at all times. Both assumptions are included in the articles 10.2 and 13.2 of the Traffic Law. These are used as a basis for imposing light penalties of 80 euros. This can be applied to all types of cases due to the diffuse definition of the text. From drinking water or eating until operate the radio while we are underway. Photo | 岁月如歌 In Xataka | All DGT fines for consuming alcohol or drugs: a punishment of up to 1,000 euros and jail

Greece wanted to put AI to monitor traffic. The problem came when the fines had to be reviewed

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Putting cameras with artificial intelligence to monitor traffic sounds, on paper, like an almost inevitable solution: less paperwork, more speed and an administration capable of detecting violations without depending on an agent being in the right place. The problem appears when that promise comes down to the asphalt and what we have seen in Greece forces us to ask a much more difficult question for any automated system: what happens when the machine flags a possible infraction, but then someone has to check if it really existed. The problem. Ta Nea published a figure which forces us to look at the system from the inside, not only in terms of the fines that reach the driver. According to the Greek media, during the pilot phase the percentage of failures or incorrect registrations would have reached between 90% and 95%. The scale helps to understand the problem: of 5,500 records generated by the system, only 400 were validated as correct after review by the Greek Police. The remaining cases included 1,300 cases attributed to cell phone use and 3,800 due to speeding that were eventually discarded. The key. The Greek system provides for a long chain: cameras record a possible infringement, this information goes through validation by the competent authority and only then can it be broadcast and digitally notified to the citizen. That is why Ta Nea’s data is so relevant. It does not simply point to drivers who resort after receiving a sanction, but to a previous bottleneck: a huge amount of records that the system generates and that the Police have to review before considering them good. New violation management model. Greece has a pilot phase since the end of March the Digital Traffic Violations Certification System, designed to gradually replace handwritten fines with a digital registration and processing process. In this first stage, two main sources intervene: the cameras of the public transport company OSY in the bus lanes, aimed at traffic and parking violations, and the network of “smart” cameras linked to the Ministry of Digital Governance. Then comes another plane. Until May 30, 2026, according to Euronewsthe new mechanism had generated 2,453 digital fines, for which 420 allegations were presented, 17.12% of the total. Of those claims, 52 were accepted, equivalent to 2.11% of all fines issued. Most of the accepted cases were related to technical or procedural issues, such as time differences, difficult-to-read data or exceptions linked to seat belt use. The distinction. One thing is the records that the camera generates and that must then go through police review before becoming a valid sanction. Another thing is the fines that have already passed that filter, have been issued, have been notified to the citizen and can then be the subject of allegations. In other words: the system has a human review before the fine arrives, but that does not prevent some drivers from continuing to appeal sanctions that had already gone through that circuit. Conflict point. As explained by a transportation expert cited by Ta Nea, the failure would not be so much in external violations as in those that occur inside the vehicle. Running a red light or driving over the speed limit can be recorded more faithfully, while detecting whether someone is wearing a seatbelt or using a cell phone depends on much more variable factors. Shadows, colors, camera angles or objects such as a cigarette can alter the reading and turn a questionable image into an alleged infringement. Images | Greek Ministry of Digital Governance In Xataka | A German driver set out to discover how much he could stretch the tank of his old diesel car. And he has done 2,400 kilometers

Japan has had enough of tourists littering the streets. So he has started to control them with police and fines

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No matter which guide you use, surely if you are looking for the iconic places in Japan, Shibuya, one of the districts, will be among them. more dynamic from Tokyo. The neighborhood is known for its neon lights, its skyline and (above all) its famous intersection. Shibuya sukuranburu kōsatenthrough which thousands of tourists pass every day. If you search on TikTok for #sibuyacrossing you will find more than 70,000 videosthe majority of foreigners. Local authorities have grown tired of these crowds leaving their streets. full of garbage and has decided cut to the chase. As? With special patrols and sanctions. What has happened? That the government of the Shibuya district, in Tokyo, wants to get rid of people who throw garbage in its streets. And he has decided to do it the most effective way (and emphatically) possible: using the police and with sanctions that will be imposed on the spot and offenders must pay either in cash, with a credit card or by means of a QR code. It is not a more or less diffuse idea or a political proposal that still needs to be debated and processed. The measure has already been introduced as an amendment in the ordinance for the ‘Joint Creation of a Clean Shibuya’, a rule from 1997. Now, and after a grace period that began in April, the authorities have begun to issue fines. They have even promoted a campaign with a name that leaves little room for interpretation: “If you throw garbage, you lose money”. Proof of how seriously the police take it is that only on their first day did they process a dozen of sanctions. What fines and how are they applied? The fines amount to 2,000 yenabout 10.7 euros, and will be applied immediately so that offenders can pay them in cash or by pulling a card. As if the threat of sanctions were not enough, the district has decided to mobilize a patrol of several dozen agents (up to 50) who will be in charge of exploring the area in search of offenders. As the objective is to eliminate dirt, the focus has not only been placed on pedestrians. The same rule contemplates fines of 50,000 yen (270 euros) for positions takeaway or vending machines that do not install trash cans nearby. Is the problem so serious? No data has been released on the amount of garbage that is collected every day on the streets of Shibuya, but there are several characteristics in the area that explain why the government has decided to resort to fines. The first is that public containers are not plentiful. In 2013 the authorities they withdrew bins and encouraged people to manage their waste responsibly. The idea was not only to avoid collapsed bins, but, as remember the BBCimprove security. In general, in the country it is not strange to find areas in which containers are scarce for fear that they will be used in terrorist attacks. This lack of buckets has not gone unnoticed by the millions of tourists who visit the country each year. In 2025 the issue appeared in a government survey on the problems faced by foreign tourists. He was cited by 20% of the respondents. Is it the only explanation? No. Shibuya is an important (and above all busy) tourist hub. According to the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), during peak hours between 1,000 and 2,500 People cross its famous intersection every two minutes. “It is one of the most emblematic places in Tokyo,” the agency points out before remembering that just with the number of people who accumulate there, including residents and visitors, a stadium could be filled in a short time. Although slightly less than 250,000 peoplethis avalanche of passers-by is much better understood if we take into account that Japan has been experiencing an authentic tourist boom. It is estimated that only last year they visited the country 42.7 million of foreigners, a relevant figure for three reasons: it represents a year-on-year increase of almost 16%, it is the first time that the figure exceeds 40 million and, above all, it marks a historical record. Fines only for tourists? No. Fines for littering the ground apply to both visitors and local people, although it is not unreasonable to think that the measure has been adopted largely with foreigners in mind. And not only because it is centered on a tourist hub. The sanctions are immediate, they can be paid with a card or a QR and the agents in charge of enforcing the rule will speak several languagesincluding English, Chinese and Korean. “Shibuya is an international area visited by many Japanese and people from all over the world. We ask all visitors, regardless of nationality, to respect the city’s rules,” underlines Ken Hasebe, district leader. The authorities conduct a survey, carried out last year, which shows that 52% of the people hunted for littering were foreigners. Does it only happen there? No. Shibuya is not the only point in Japan where the tourist avalanche has generated tensions with the local population. In fact, you don’t have to go back very far in time to find two other towns that also decided to adopt measures to avoid the overcrowding, dirt and traffic problems generated by tourism. One is Fujikawaguchiko, which in 2024 installed a barrier to cover your views of Mount Fuji. The reason? The hordes of tourists seeking selfie perfect. The other is Fujiyoshida, who recently canceled their festival of the cherry blossom to save the neighbors the inconvenience caused by the thousands of foreigners that the event attracts. The country even has decided to charge for the ascent of Fuji to prevent it from becoming a huge public landfill. Images |Timo Volz (Unsplash) and Jezael Melgoza (Unsplash) In Xataka | Antarctica was practically the last corner of the Earth immune to touristification. That’s ending

sexual deepfakes out, mandatory AI label and millionaire fines to the private sector

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Spain has approved the draft Organic Law for the good use and governance of artificial intelligence. The standard adapts the legislation to framework established by the European Union with the AI ​​law and establishes a series of obligations and prohibitions based on the risk classification of these systems. The regulations impose mandatory human supervision in high-risk systems and extend responsibility beyond the company that deploys these systems, also reaching those who use them. Sanctions. In mild cases, penalties range from 6,000 euros, such as not cooperating with the authorities, to 500,000 euros or 0.5% of the total turnover. In more serious cases, turnover shoots up to 35 million or, failing that, 7% of global turnover in very serious cases. Fines of 15 million or 3% of turnover are also proposed when high-risk systems are used without human supervision. The double standard. The controversy arises because these fines are not applied when it is the administration that fails to comply with the rule. If, for example, the police or a ministry uses an AI system classified as prohibited, the law contemplates reprimands and disciplinary actions, but no fines. The Government defends that it has “raised the bar for self-demand” with transparency measures, among which is the creation of a public inventory of all AI systems used in administrative procedures. It also introduces the figure of the AI ​​delegate who will be in charge of coordinating its use. Deepfakes. The creation of deepfakes of a sexual nature and also the creation of child pornography with AI tools is prohibited. Deepfakes that do not fall into these categories (for example of a politician or a public figure) are not prohibited, but must be labeled as AI in a “clear and distinguishable” way from the time they are first shared. AI content tagging. The ministry establishes that videos and images must have a watermark in a corner of the image in which the acronym AI is clearly read. For audio generated with AI, that same seal must appear in the corresponding application, whether it is Spotify, Apple Music or another service. If you do not choose this label, it will be the audio itself that must incorporate a warning that it is generated with AI. The date to begin applying this labeling is August 2 of this year. Who will be in charge of controlling it. Supervision will fall mainly on AESIA, the Spanish AI Supervision Agency, but will be supported by other authorities such as the Spanish Data Protection Agency for biometric data, the General Council of the Judiciary for the judicial field and the Bank of Spain for everything related to the financial system. According to The CountryAESIA plans to hire 50 analysts before the end of the year to carry out this task. When it comes into effect. The law is intended to come into force before the end of 2027, but the obligation to label data with AI will come into force on August 2. However, as the law is not yet applied, in practice it means that for more than a year there will be obligations in place, but with no real ability to impose fines on companies that fail to comply. Image | Moncloa In Xataka | Deepfakes are much more than a bad joke. Now the Government wants them to be a violation of the right to honor

fines of up to 30,000 euros

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Do you charge 2,320 euros per month? You’re lucky because you can rent an 80 square meter apartment in Ibiza. Of course, you won’t have any money left for anything else. Not even for those small luxuries like eating or showering. These are the data if we take as reference the 29 euros/m2 that, according to Idealista, It is difficult to live on rent in Ibiza city. That is if we take into account that the data is from the month of February, because in summer prices have been exceeded in recent years, reaching 32 euros/m2. Everything indicates that the pressure on rental prices will increase. They point out in The Voice of Ibiza that the Balearic Islands have become the Autonomous Community where the most pressure is expected on rental prices, with an average increase of more than 4,000 euros at the end of the year, as a result of the renewal of contracts that expire this year. The problem recurs every year. The New York Times addressed this problem in 2024 in a report in which voice was given to firefighters, teachers or police destined for Ibiza and who could not pay the rental bill. Entrenched and without solutions, the housing problem has created a series of settlements of workers who spend the night in tents and caravans unable to afford an apartment or rooms for which they have been asking 1,000 euros for years. On an island where tourism and luxury hotels drive the economy, a considerable number of workers do not have a roof over their heads. The solution to some of them went through live in a caravan. Now Ibiza has expelled 200 of them and it is being protected against this type of settlements. Legal, until it isn’t Last January, A post on Tiktok went viral of a woman who worked as a seasonal worker in the Tena Valley (Huesca). “I am a temporary worker and I come to work in the Tena Valley. The rents are 800 euros and I am not going to share a flat. I prefer to live in the van with my cat (…) I don’t understand why they focus on me when I don’t break the regulations,” she noted in the video. The video showed how the police asked him to leave the town where he had parked his motorhomewhere he lived. The truth is that he was right, nothing prevented him from living in his house on wheels as long as it was parked legally and he did not take objects outside, which could be considered camping. But this case cannot be completely extrapolated. to the entire national territory. Municipalities or autonomous communities can apply their own restrictions to prevent camping. This is the case of the Balearic Islands, which has decided to protect itself against the entry of caravans. Since last year, and with the excuse of putting limitations on tourism, Ibiza imposed a maximum number of cars that could enter its islands. Since then, there can be no more than 20,000 non-resident cars driving on its roads. But, of them, 16,000 cars belong to rental fleets. And if you want to move around the island with a caravan you have to prove that you have the camping nights already booked. This last measure included in the Law 5/2024 on vehicle control It is one of the weapons that are being used on the island to evict those living in a caravan. In fact, the third additional provision reads the following: In order to avoid the proliferation of motor vehicles parked in certain places for long periods and that are used, in practice, for camping and overnight stays, the prolonged parking of motor vehicles on the rural land of the island outside of the existing public parking lots specially enabled for this purpose is prohibited. Long-term parking is considered to be staying parked in the same location for more than three days. Camping and overnight stays with motor vehicles on the rustic land of the island of Ibiza outside the legally existing tourist camps are prohibited. Any type of parking of motor vehicles on the rural land of the island of Ibiza is prohibited if they do not have the accreditation of entry and/or permanence on the island regulated by this law. The previous regulations, therefore, aim to the Law of Rustic Land of the Balearic Islands in which exactly what rustic land is is defined. And according to the description we read in article 7 of said law, rustic land is practically any non-urban space on the island. Therefore, the prohibitions described above make any parking illegal in spaces considered “rustic land”, which includes all types of trucks next to the road or towns. They are spaces that tourists with caravans have usually taken advantage of to sleep but that have also been used by the island’s own workers. The problem is not small. And it is that in article 8 of the Vehicle Control Law it is specified that “the Plenary Session of the Ibiza Island Council” may “agree to temporarily limit the influx and/or parking of motor vehicles” where it is considered that there is too much influx of vehicles following a report from the affected city council if they consider that environmental damage may occur in “certain spaces with natural, heritage or landscape values.” This makes it easier for caravan settlements of workers who cannot find housing are dismantled. And the fine is no small thing. In its sanctioning regime, a driver who enters one of the described areas can be punished with a fine of between 300 and 1,000 euros, as it is considered a minor offense. But when it comes to spending the night, things get complicated. And the very serious sanctions include contravening the third additional provision, the one in which it is explained that a person cannot spend the night outside the spaces specifically designed for it. In this case, fines of 10,001 to 30,000 euros and … Read more

This is how the device that has triggered fines in France works

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If at any time we come across a metallic, angular and almost futuristic-looking trailer on the road, it is easy for us to think of anything but a speed camera. However, that design that vaguely resembles a vehicle like the Tesla Cybertruck It has a much more specific function: controlling speed and automatically penalizing those who exceed it. What we have seen in other countries already has a presence in Spain, and everything indicates that its impact is not going unnoticed. the real name. Although the name “Cybertruck radar” It has become popular for its appearancewhat we have before us is a system with first and last name: Poliscan Enforcement Trailermanufactured by the German company Vitronic. Its approach is different from other radars that we already know. Here we are talking about a speedometer installed on a trailer that can be easily moved and that is designed to operate autonomously, without the constant presence of operators. How it works. We have already seen that it does not need constant supervision, but its operation goes one step further. This towed radar can operate for long periods thanks to high-performance batteries, which allows it to be deployed in points where there is no electrical connection or fixed infrastructure. Once installed, it controls speed precisely in several lanes and can manage violations without the need for police presence at the time. In addition, it incorporates protection measures against sabotage, from sensors that detect movements to elements designed to make any tampering attempt difficult, and can be connected to process disciplinary proceedings. Where is it in Spain. If we now look at the Spanish case, the starting point is clear: Catalonia was the first community to incorporate this type of towed radars. Here, yes, the sources do not completely agree on the figures and dates.Infotrànsit, in a post dated March 2, 2026states that the Servei Català de Trànsit incorporated them into the road network in 2023 and raises the number to ten operational tow radars. The direction seems clear: expand the fleet during 2026 and concentrate it on sections with higher accident rates, with the AP-7 as one of the corridors where this type of control fits most clearly. The French mirror. A precedent that explains its impact. To understand why this type of radar is gaining prominence, it is worth looking at France, where they have been deployed for years and with measurable results. According to data collected by Motorpasiónin 2022 there were about 340 devices of this type, which represented approximately 7.5% of the country’s total radars. However, their weight in the sanctions was much greater: they accounted for more than a quarter of the 25.5 million fines registered. That is to say, its presence was relatively limited, but the data points to a capacity to detect infractions much greater than its weight within the system. Beyond its design or its impact on the figures, what is drawn with this type of device is a change in the way of controlling speed on the road. Both the Servei Català de Trànsit and the DGT have focused on sections where the risk is greater, from roads with high accident rates to construction areas where signage changes and drivers do not always adjust their gear. In this context, towed radars fit as a flexible tool, capable of adapting to different situations. Images | Vitronic | Catalan Transit Service In Xataka | Denza Z9GT and D9: BYD’s luxury brand lands in Europe with a coupé with more than 1,000 HP and a seven-seater minivan

fines of up to 2,346 pesos

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If you drive through Querétaro and often pass in front of schools, there is one thing you should keep in mind so as not to be surprised. Exceeding 30 km/h in public school zones can result in a fine of up to 2,346 pesos and also the loss of points on the license. This is not just a general driving recommendation, but a penalty provided for in the state Traffic Law that has recently received attention again in different media. Most visible application. More than a new rule, what the sources reflect is that this penalty was already contemplated in state legislation and is now back on the table along with its consequences for drivers. So much Motorpassion as El Imparcial point out that the Traffic Law for the State of Querétaro already included this limit in its article 65. The focus on this measure is also framed in a context of concern about road accidents in urban areas where pedestrians, cyclists and motorists coincide. The specific sanction. If a driver exceeds the limit allowed in these areas, the law provides for clear economic and administrative sanctions. The fines range from 10 to 20 UMA, which is equivalent to between 1,173 and 2,346 Mexican pesos. Added to this is the reduction of between three and six points on the driver’s license. All this is supported by article 65 of the state Traffic Law, cited by sources. If you are stopped for exceeding the limit in a school zone, there is a procedure the officer must follow. Motorpasión explains that mobility officers must tell the driver to stop without affecting traffic, explain the reason for the stop and show their identification. They must also indicate which rule was violated and what the corresponding penalty is, in addition to requesting mandatory documentation for the vehicle and driver. The idea is that the infraction is applied with a clear protocol and not as an informal action. Consultation and payment. The digital front: Beyond the sanction, there is a practical aspect that should be on hand if you drive in the entity. There is a digital route within the portal of the Executive Branch of the State of Querétaro to check if you have pending violations and pay them online. The process, according to that publication, can be done by following these steps: Enter the portal of the Executive Branch of the State of Querétaro Access the section of the Secretariat of Sustainable Development Select the type of vehicle service Capture circulation card data Consult and, where appropriate, pay the violation In the end, beyond the fine or points on the license, what the sources make clear is that this type of measure aims to reduce risks in especially sensitive areas. In school areas, where there is a greater presence of pedestrians and students, the margin of error is much smaller. Therefore, rather than seeing it only as a penalty, it should be taken as a practical warning if you drive through Querétaro: adjusting the speed on these sections not only avoids a significant expense, it can also help reduce risks on the road. Images | Municipality of Querétaro In Xataka | Mexico is developing its first electric car and Puebla has the responsibility of delivering it: Olinia

Today the V16 beacon that you need to avoid the first fines that are already arriving arrives at Aldi (and at half price)

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Although it seemed that they were not going to arrive, the first fines for not having the V16 beacon on the vehicle are arriving, leaving behind the “grace period” that the DGT had announced. If you had passed this measure and still do not have yours, today (February 11) this arrives at Aldi lowered V16 Trophy beaconwith a discount of more than 50%, and can be purchased for only 29.99 euros, as we can see in its weekly brochure. DGT approved v16 beacon with geolocator The price could vary. We earn commission from these links A fully approved beacon This emergency light Trophy sold by Aldi is fully approvedso security is fully guaranteed. Furthermore, at this price, it becomes a cheap option to buy it now and have it in the car and not wait for a long trip (like your next Easter getaway or summer vacation) or for the triangles to disappear permanently. But above all, it is perfect for avoiding fines since if there is one thing clear, it is that no one likes having their pocket touched. As for the characteristics that this one stands out for, V16 beaconone of them is its powerful high-intensity LED light, which makes it visible from a kilometer away and at 360º. Besides, works with AAA batteries and it has a powerful magnetic base, which makes attachment to the roof of your vehicle perfect. Another advantage it presents is that it comes with eSIM with data included until 2038. And the best of all is that you don’t have to install external apps nor enter any type of personal data. If you have a breakdown or emergency, you just have to press the button to turn it on and nothing more. ⚡ IN BRIEF: V16 trophy beacon offer at aldi ✅ THE BEST Its price: Nowadays, we can find beacons almost everywhere, so there is no excuse to have your own. Practically, they all do the same thing so their price is the main attraction. Your base: Although all beacons have a magnetic base of this type, it is true that this model stands out for being powerful, remaining well adhered to the roof of the vehicle. ❌ THE WORST There is no online sale: Rather than saying that it has some characteristic that weakens it, the negative thing about this beacon is that it is only sold in a physical store. So if you don’t have a chain supermarket nearby, forget about being able to buy it. 💡 BUY IT IF… You refuse to spend a fortune on a V16 beacon for your vehicle that you will rarely use. That is, it is the perfect model to have just in case without spending more. ⛔ DON’T BUY IT IF… I can’t tell you a reason not to buy it because it’s cheap and good. Of course, if you don’t have an Aldi nearby, probably forget about getting it because when you maybe get to the store, at this price it is sold out. Of course, you can look at some models online that also have a more than reasonable price. The V16 beacon that sweeps Amazon and costs the same With this V16 beacon Help Flash+ IoT that Amazon sells even five cents cheaper (29.95 euros), you can forget about having to go to an Aldi supermarket or keep an eye on whether they restock in your nearest store. In addition, this model is the best seller on Amazon and there are no shortage of compelling reasons. help flash IoT+, V16 Emergency Light with Geolocation and more than 290 candela power The price could vary. We earn commission from these links The first of them is that it offers 290 candles (which is much more than the 40 minimums required by the DGT for this type of vehicle safety devices). It is also manufactured in Spain, so reliability is maximum. Although if there is something that has made her succeed, it is her compatibility with the myIncidence app. In it you can register the data of your vehicle and your insurance policy to be able to notify immediately in case of a breakdown or accident. Other cheap V16 beacons that may interest you HIBRON EXTRASTAR Emergency Light Beacon V16 Approved DGT with Geolocation The price could vary. We earn commission from these links LEDONE – DGT Approved v16 Beacon with Geolocator The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Image | Aldi and Netun Solutions In Xataka | V-16 emergency light for the car. Purchasing guide, regulations and when they come into force, characteristics and approvals In Xataka | Clarifying all the mess that the DGT has on its hands: the V-16 light, the V-27 signal and the emergency triangles

The DGT sold us a “reasonable period without sanctions” for the V-16 beacons. The fines are already coming

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Unwritten agreements have a problem: nothing is written. It seems silly but it is more than obvious. When there is talk of a “reasonable period” or “being flexible” but nothing is signed, the truth is that there are reasons to be suspicious. Because nothing and no one prevents breaking that supposed agreement with which all parties agree. Or if not, tell those who have been fined for not having the V-16 beacons. They are already fining. This is what they assure from Pyramid Consulting. This consultancy, specialized in appealing traffic fines, already indicates that its offices have received a penalty because a driver did not have the V-16 light to signal a dangerous situation. The penalty is 80 euros, as we already had in Xatakaand it reads that the reason for the sanction is “not having the corresponding V-16 regulatory sign installed on the vehicle.” The penalty was imposed on January 6, Three Kings’ Day, and the gift will be a financial penalty of 40 euros if the driver accepts prompt payment. “A reasonable period”. Penalizing a driver on January 6, 2026 for not having a V-16 beacon raises blisters among drivers. And Fernando Grande-Marlaska, Minister of the Interior, and Pere Navarro, director of the DGT, were faced with a pool full of contradictions and decided to jump into it headlong. In December 2025, faced with the prospect that drivers were not going to have the V-16 beacon on time, the DGT already announced that there would be no extensions in the application of the measure because, in their words, there would be no point in delaying it to the summer of 2026 since the situation would be exactly the same. Of course, they indicated that they had considered delaying it. However, that same month of December, the director of the DGT himself indicated that agents “will be flexible” so fines were not expected, at least, in the first days. They talked about “consolidating this issue” without having to deal with a barrage of fines. On January 8, Grande-Marlaska defended that the beacon was not tax collection, that “information would take precedence over the sanction” and that fines would not be imposed. a “reasonable” period of time. By then, Pyramid Consulting’s client had already been sanctioned. They think they are right. From the consultancy they assure that they are going to appeal the fine. The reasons they allege are that articles 9 and 103 of the Spanish Constitution specify that the Administration must guarantee the legal security of citizens. And they point out that the Administration’s actions must comply with and be: Foreseeable Transparent Consistent Adjusted to good faith They assure that Grande-Marlaska’s statements, in which it was suggested that the agents would not sanction “in a reasonable period of time,” invalidates the sanction and generates legal uncertainty for the citizen since a safeguard message is sent that in the end has not been fulfilled. The contradictions. The problem here is that those responsible for the Ministry of the Interior and the DGT sent messages that contradicted what is stated in the law. Both assured that there would be no fine for not having the beacon and not using it but, at the same time, they neither offered a specific time period nor was any type of order approved in which this was reflected. This left it up to the agents how to act. And if they considered that a car was not correctly signaling its position, there were sufficient reasons to sanction it, according to the approved regulations. And although the DGT’s public message was in the direction of not fining, the agents themselves have recognized that they have no order to act in this way. Photo | DGT and Pyramid Consulting In Xataka | The V-16 beacon has many problems: the manufacturer turning off its servers and leaving you offline is not one of them

Galicia has proposed to put an end to the “zamburiñas fraud” once and for all. So he’s already issuing fines

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The Spanish proverb warns about not being given a “cat in a hare”, but the most common deception when we talk about Spanish gastronomy of the 21st century is that they serve you a plate of volandeiras or Pacific scallops as if they were exclusive (and much more expensive) Galician zamburiñas. To an untrained eye the three bilvaves (volandeiras, scallops and scallops) are more or less similar to each other. The problem is that they are not the same and mixing their names violates regulations, represents unfair competition and (most seriously) deceives the client. That’s why in Galicia they have said enough. What has happened? That the Galician authorities they have gotten tired that in the community’s restaurants and bars they play with names, selling as “zamburiñas” dishes that actually contain two other species: volandeiras or Pacific scallops. It’s not just about passing off one thing as another. It is that, beyond the fact that the three are similar bivalves, their consideration it’s not the same. They do not match their prices. Nor its origin. Nor is its flavor exactly the same. Volandeiras and zamburiñas are shellfished in Galician banks (although with certain differences) and are usually sold fresh. The Pacific scallop is normally a frozen product that comes from aquaculture and arrives from Peru and Chile. Photos showing the exterior and interior of the right valve. Image A) corresponds to the “Mimachlamys varia” (zamburiña); B with Argopecten Purpuratus (Pacific scallop) and C with Aequipecten Opercularis (volandeira). And what have they done? Basically what the Galician authorities have done is investigate Yes, when a customer orders a portion of seafood in a bar in A Coruña, Vilagarcía, Ourense, Lugo… or any other Galician town, they are being served what they have ordered and not another product of more or less similar appearance. It’s not exactly something new. In September the local press has already advanced that the Xunta was carrying out an inspection campaign and that during the control they had found bars in which the menus advertised scallops when in reality what was served on the table were scallops or (sometimes) volandeiras. Has it stayed there? No. And that is the great news. The Voice just revealed that the controls carried out by the Resource Inspection and Control Service (SICOR) and Consumer Affairs officials have not been mere slaps on the wrist. They have also resulted in sanctions and fines. To be more precise, the newspaper speaks of the processing of just over 100 disciplinary proceedings since last summer for the use of incorrect commercial names: 53 to hospitality businesses in the province of A Coruña, 46 from Pontevedra, 14 from Lugo and 6 from Ourense. Among the ‘hunted’ there are not only bars, taverns and restaurants. There are also a few intermediaries. How much did it cost you? The Voice appointment at least one case in which the hotelier received a fine of 300 euros for advertising volandeiras and then serving scallops. The Xunta claims that before resorting to fines, a campaign was launched to remind professionals that they cannot mix terms and that a “deterrent effect” was even perceived, with hoteliers correcting their letters. Not even that has prevented there from being a hundred businesses with files. What is the problem? Basically, passing off one seafood as another (mixing commercial names) “violates traceability standards and can mislead the consumer,” the Xunta specifies. Not only does it confuse data related to traceability, but it goes against sales regulations and represents unfair competition against businesses that do respect the regulations. In fact, the problem is not limited to the zamburiñas alone. Are there more cases? That’s how it is. The majority of the files processed in Galicia are related to scallops, scallops and volanderias, but the inspectors also hunted down infractions that affect other merchandise. For example, passing off octopuses and barnacles as Galician seafood when in reality it comes from Moroccan waters. Agents also found cases in the food chain where farmed salmon and turbot were sold as wild. The Department of the Sea assures that there is no specific campaign and that the files are the result of “ordinary control work.” Regarding the sanctions, since these are minor infractions, the fines can reach 300 euros, although they remain at half (150 euros) if the offender meets certain requirements. Is there that much difference? Yes. Although in the hospitality industry we usually talk about “zamburiñas” in general, that word is reserved for a very specific species: Mimachlamys variaa sought-after bivalve appreciated for its flavor. The ‘Pesca de Galicia’ platform detailed on Monday the 26th that the kilo was priced in the markets at an average of 13.4 eurosfar above the volandeira (Aequipecten opercularis), which is also collected in Galicia, although it is more abundant. Things change when we talk about the Pacific scallop (Argopecten purpuratus), which is usually the result of aquaculture, is frozen and arrives from the coasts of Peru and Chile. The problem is that all three (scallops, scallops and scallops) are relatively similar, at least if you don’t have a trained eye. If the characteristics of their shells are known, it is easier to identify them. Does it only happen in Galicia? In 2020, a team from the University of Oviedo carried out a study which proved two things. First, the frequency with which the word Zamburiña is used “incorrectly” to refer to other species. Second, that “there exists widespread fraud in its commercialization in Asturias”. Your data is certainly compelling. After analyzing 148 different samples, they found that in 49% of the cases (73) the seafood was incorrectly labeled, presenting other bivalves, usually volandeiras, as scallops. How common is it? To complete their analysis, researchers from the University of Oviedo went to 20 restaurants and ordered dishes that were identified on the menu as “zamburiñas.” They were left wanting to taste them. “In 100% of the cases the species offered was the Pacific scallop,” reveals. The organization remembers that although there may not … Read more

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