Barcelona is the city with almost one million annual traffic fines. A total of 899,951 traffic fines were imposed last year. These fines include parking, infraction and circulation fines from the low emission zone (LEZ) ordinance.
Expressed another way, in 2023 the number of sanctions was 2,465 per day, this figure represents 6.1 % less than in 2022. This represents the last that is complete of Ada Colau’s eight-year term in office at the head of the City Council. This has attracted the attention of the competent authorities in this area, thus completing the million fines.
Barcelona, the city with annual traffic fines
As a result, Barcelona has earned the reputation of being one of the major Spanish cities with the most infractions of traffic regulations and its municipal ordinances that regulate mobility in the city.
It should be noted that a couple of years ago agent 541 was anonymous. Who alone processed some 70,000 complaints in fiscal year 2022, with a total of seven and a half million euros in fines. These numbers can be misleading to some extent and in most cases the signature was merely affixed to the file.
But, in any case, these statistics made public by the City Council in the data portal ratify the perception that in Barcelona a firm hand is applied when it comes to other types of infractions.
6.1 % number of registered complaints
In 2023, there were 6.1% complaints, a lower percentage than in the previous year, due to the fact that most of the sanctions imposed were of little justification. It should be noted that only 3% of the cases of penalized infringements result in the withdrawal of points from the driver’s license. Taking into account that there are more than 10,500 cases where the penalty involved the withdrawal of six points.
Annual traffic fines: volume of penalties has increased significantly
It should be noted that this volume of sanctions corresponds to a report by the Barcelona City Council, a notable increase in the number of radars, income that has been notorious, i.e., not negligible. This is despite the denials of the local authorities, both past and present, who argue that the money coming in through this channel does not compensate for the costs of managing the system.
This means that 2023 was very marked politically, due to the change that took place at the head of the mayor’s office in the middle of the year. Socialist Jaume Collboni is seen replacing Ada Colau.
As a result, the amount of penalties for all types of vehicles was close to 100 million euros, 98.3 million euros to be precise. Which means a figure that refers to the number of fines. This represented a lower number than that of 2022, when 107.3 million euros were collected for this concept.
