A total of 1,832,343 drivers are currently at risk of losing their driving license. Not committing any more infractions in the next two years, or taking a course, is the only solution they have.
Out of a figure of 27,727,838 drivers registered throughout the national territory, according to the statistical portal of the DGT1,832,343 drivers have less than 11 points on their driving license or have a 0 balance.
The current Spanish legislation contemplates the possibility of recovering lost points after having been sanctioned, as well as recovering the license once it has been withdrawn due to having lost all points.
You may opt for partial recovery of a maximum of 6 points, passing a road awareness and re-education course. Of course, this course can only be taken once every two years. A second option is to recover all the lost points, if no more are lost in two years.
A driver with more than three years of experience has a total of 12 points. If it is a new driver, that is, with less than three years of experience, the number of points is reduced to eight. Eight points are also available if you have lost your permit or license due to exhausting all points, when you obtain a new one.
Since the points-based license was implemented, the main infractions committed by drivers, and which have therefore led to more points being withdrawn, have been, first of all, excess speed, with 42%. This is followed by not wearing a seat belt, with 13 percent of violations, the use of a mobile phone, with 9 percent, and alcohol consumption, with 9 percent.
The province with the highest percentage of drivers with a balance of less than 11 points is Pontevedra, with 8.72%, and Guipúzcoa is the province that closes the classification of drivers with less than 11 points, with only 5.01% of its census of drivers in that situation.
Currently, taking a partial recovery course allows us to recover up to 6 points on the driving license. It seems like the easiest option for drivers.
For the director of IMOVIAL, Alfredo Campa, “the data is similar in recent years, with drivers’ priority being to take a course that allows them to quickly recover points and avoid being left without a permit.”
According to Campa, the teachers, during the courses, address in great depth the main causes of accidents “with special attention to drugs, alcohol and the inappropriate use of medications, they address risk factors such as speed and distractions ( including the use of mobile phones while driving).
Julia Barrera, owner and teacher of the Julia driving school in Almendralejo, Badajoz, explains that it is about raising awareness as the first option. «The students already know how to drive, it is only a matter of them knowing the risks, respecting and taking into account that traffic, as drivers or pedestrians, is a space where we all live together, young people, children, adults. Making our mobility friendlier and healthier is our goal as trainers.”
Re-education and awareness courses are taught by centers authorized by the DGT, since the entry into force of Royal Decree-Law 5/2023. Previously, these centers, 360 throughout Spain, with the exception of the Basque Country and Catalonia, were regulated by a concession system. Now, since September 25, they have become regulated by an administrative authorization system, which has expanded the number of authorized teaching centers, allowing drivers to more easily access these courses, in a center close to their home.
According to Alfredo Campa “70% of these centers collaborate with IMOVIAL. We have the best driving schools in the sector collaborating with us, and this is a guarantee for both the students and the centers themselves.”