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Abandoned cars: how the DGT in Spain deals with this persistent problem

Thousands of vehicles are dumped in Spain each year and left to rust in car parks and on the streets

Each year, around 50,000 vehicles are abandoned in Spain, left to rust on the roads, in car parks, garages and along residential streets. This creates an administrative nightmare for the DGT, since the owners usually don’t bother to remove the car from the official records and of course, the ditched vehicles take up valuable parking spaces.

According to the traffic authorities, the reasons vehicles are abandoned are many and varied, but usually it occurs when a car is old and in poor condition and in need of repairs that the owner can’t afford. But rather than scrapping the vehicles, motorists decide to leave them in any convenient public place.

What can the authorities do about abandoned vehicles?

Article 106 of the Traffic Law deals specifically with abandoned cars and states that if a vehicle has been left on a public street or road for more than two months without being moved, it can be taken to an Authorised Vehicle Treatment Centre by the local authorities and scrapped.

In addition, cars that show obvious signs of damage or breakdown, or those without licence plates, can be destroyed after just one month.

But that’s just those vehicles dumped on the street, and each year the DGT estimates that up to 20,000 cars are left in private spaces such as shopping centre car parks, housing estates, garages, hotels, airports and hospitals.

Until recently, the process for dealing with vehicles abandoned on private lots was complicated, and the owner of the property would have to file civil proceedings before they were allowed to move them. However, in December 2022, article 106 was modified to allow owners to act more quickly and easily.

Now, the Provincial Traffic Department may remove a vehicle that has been left parked up “as a result of a breakdown or accident” in a private area if its owner “has not removed it within two months”.

Of course, the affected party must be able to prove to the authorities that the vehicle has indeed been abandoned and may be asked to provide photos, a statement before a notary etc.

At the same time, the traffic division must provide the owner with sufficient notice that they are going to scrap the vehicle. In this case, the car owner will be informed in writing that “if they do not remove it from where it is parked within a month, it will proceed to the transfer to an authorised centre for the treatment of vehicles,” the DGT explains.

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Image: Pixabay

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