If you're travelling to Portugal, watch out for the GNR

The headline is not at all pretentious, it is the plain reality that foreign authorities and drivers have been denouncing, saying they have been indiscriminately caught out in Portugal. It seems the government of the neighbouring country has decided to equip the officers of the Guardia Nacional Republicana with devices that allow fines to be collected on the spot.

And this is leading to a crackdown on foreign drivers in Portugal, at least that is what drivers’ groups warn, and even the Portuguese authorities themselves, such as several mayors of towns close to the border with Spain.

Until now, the GNR’s pressure on foreign drivers in Portugal was only applied in the Algarve area, which is typically tourist. But now it has spread to the rest of the country, fining foreign drivers without leniency for any kind of infringement.

Now they have even started fining people for double parking, something that was unheard of in the small Portuguese towns. Or for stopping on the hard shoulder without switching on all four hazard lights, actions that Portuguese law does support, but which the Guardia Nacional Republicana is applying without leniency.

The biggest problem is that if we do not want to pay the fine, because we are foreign drivers, European regulations allow the State to immobilise our vehicle, and if we want to appeal without paying, the car is again blocked until the dispute is resolved.

Wherever we drive, we always have to comply with the traffic rules, but even so, if you plan to go to Portugal, be careful about any lapse regarding traffic regulations or the trip could end up costing you dearly.

Source | Faro de Vigo