From today, it is mandatory to wear a face mask in the car if more than one person is travelling

The entry into the first of the 4 phases of de-escalation brings a series of changes or modifications to some routines that had already been announced, such as wearing a face mask in the car.

This case is covered by the Order TMA/384/2020 published yesterday , which is based on Royal Decree 463/2020 of 14 March, declaring the state of emergency, and which enters into force from 00:00 hours today, 4 May 2020, to establish when and who must wear a face mask when using a vehicle, whether publicly owned, private or privately used.

Thus, this order of the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda sets out the instructions regarding the use of face masks on the different means of transport.

Where is it mandatory to wear a face mask?

This is why the obligation to wear a face mask covering the nose and mouth is established for every person travelling on land transport, such as cars, commercial and professional vehicles, buses or trains, as well as by air or sea.

With regard to road transport, the new feature introduced by this legal text is the possibility of two people travelling per row of seats, provided they comply with the requirement to wear a face mask and keep as much distance between them as possible.This means that, for complementary private vehicles, such as taxis and vehicles with driver (VTC), as well as vans or even private vehicles with up to 9 seats, it is possible to travel with more than 2 people in each of these vehicles, provided the aforementioned condition of a maximum of 2 occupants per row, both wearing face masks is met.

In vehicles such as taxis and VTCs that carry passengers, the front passenger seat must remain unoccupied, and the driver must have hand sanitising solutions available, such as antibacterial gels.

In cases such as commercial vehicles with a single row of seats, they may carry passengers in that row provided these requirements are met.

How many passengers can travel in the same vehicle?

For journeys in private vehicles, such as a high-occupancy family vehicle, the seats may be occupied as provided by the Order, up to a maximum of 6 passengers, for example in a 9-seater vehicle.

Wearing a face mask in the car is an additional measure

In any case, it is understood that wearing a face mask in the car, as in any type of transport or when travelling on foot for whatever reason, is an additional measure to the need to establish routines and personal hygiene protocols, focusing more specifically on regular hand washing, covering the nose and mouth with the elbow when coughing or sneezing if no face mask is worn, and, of course, the already well-known social distancing between people.