The fine for running a red traffic light in Spain is €200. The fine is reduced to €100 if paid within the first 20 calendar days. The fine leads to the withdrawal of 4 points from the driving licence, except for drivers resident outside Spain. It is a fine that until relatively recently used to be imposed by officers on the spot. In recent years, camera-based red light checks have become increasingly common.
Most traffic lights are located in cities, so fines for running a red light are issued by the competent local police. Major Spanish cities such as Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, Seville or Mallorca have traffic light cameras. DGT also has photo-red controls on roads under its jurisdiction.
How camera traffic lights work
Red light cameras are installed about 25 metres before the traffic light itself, so that they perfectly frame the road, the vehicle and the traffic light. These cameras only capture images when the traffic light is red. The cameras capture a sequence of images showing the vehicle before and after the stop line while the traffic light is red. Traffic light control cameras are not activated at an amber light.
Most of these controls are warned by the signal shown in the picture.
