Appealing fines, a way to avoid penalties that is used very rarely

Summer has arrived and we are far more willing to take the car to get from one place to another and enjoy our free time, so it is easy that at some point we find ourselves facing a traffic fine. The person responsible for that fine may be one of the many speed cameras spread across Spain or the action of a traffic officer who files the report without notifying you immediately.

Let us review the ways to find out how to appeal a fine and check whether that penalty is correct and conforms to the law and to the facts being reported. Often, the alleged offender does not question the validity of the report and tends to pay quickly to benefit from the 50% discount offered for early payment. Others choose to ignore it, hoping that someone will forget about the fine and it will simply disappear. In both cases, the person fined may lose the chance to appeal the fine, and it becomes a final penalty, which can cost money and also deduct points from the driving licence.

As a first step, it must be remembered that having received a fine does not prove that any traffic law has been broken, or at least that the public administration has proven it. The presumption of innocence always prevails, which guarantees that evidence must be provided to prove and confirm that infraction. The administration that initiates the sanctioning process must present that evidence for the penalty to become final.

The evidence that must be provided includes the ratification by the reporting officer, the testimony of that officer and of his colleague, and the photographic evidence taken of the vehicle. Documentation certifying that all the elements used to identify the vehicle work correctly and their measurements are accurate should also be provided.

In addition, the alleged offender must provide all the evidence they consider necessary to confirm that they are not responsible for the alleged infraction. This whole process must be initiated before 20 calendar days have passed (that is, counting public holidays, Sundays and holiday periods) from the notification, whether through its publication in the BOE or the DEV, receipt of the notification, or other systems.

After receiving the allegations, the State may send the evidence needed to substantiate the penalty and a period of 15 days to appeal it. Once this period has passed, the penalty will be confirmed and the possibility of obtaining that 50% discount on the amount will be lost. There is a one-month period to appeal it. It should be remembered that most appeals found on the internet are useless and that the advice of a professional should be relied upon.

Another thing to keep in mind is that by accepting the initial payment, with the 50% discount, you lose the possibility of submitting allegations. Thus, even if there is an error in the processing of the report, the possibility of defending the rights that apply to you is lost, even if an error is seen in the report. Furthermore, payment confirms guilt and causes the points corresponding to the penalty imposed to be lost.

Once the administrative route has been exhausted, one can turn to the judicial route, where action can also be taken and which is a procedure that achieves good results. In the judicial route, natural persons are currently exempt from paying the court fee, which lowers the costs of access to justice. Nevertheless, by turning to a professional, they can carry out the most appropriate actions to pursue the procedure that best suits each case. It should be remembered that this professional, through their experience, will know paths that escape the average person, making them much more effective.