This is the fine you can be given for not using the rear seats correctly

Did you know that you can be fined for not using the rear seats properly? You may have a lot of questions, but don’t worry, we are going to answer all of them. The rear seats have a clear purpose: to carry people. So, if you are one of those who uses these seats for personal items and/or luggage, you could be risking a penalty.

You don’t need to be going on a trip to use the rear seats as a boot. It’s as simple as, for example, going shopping and putting the bags on the rear seats instead of in the boot. Although this may seem unimportant, the truth is that it is quite dangerous. So much so that the Directorate-General for Traffic includes this action in its regulatory framework.

The General Traffic Regulations, Article 14 “Placement of cargo” explains how cargo and people must be placed inside vehicles, based on safety. In point 1, sections a and b, it reads:

“1. Cargo carried in a vehicle, as well as the accessories used to secure or protect it, must be arranged and, if necessary, fastened in such a way that they cannot:

a) Drag, fall wholly or partly, or move in a dangerous manner.

b) Compromise the stability of the vehicle“.

Placing cargo on the rear seats can result in a fine

Guardia Civil officers may penalise you on the basis of this article of the General Traffic Regulations and “consider that there are loose objects in the passenger compartment that are not properly separated from the area where the passengers are, thereby compromising their safety in the event of a sudden braking or another type of sudden or emergency manoeuvre. In this regard, it would be classified as a serious infringement, which carries a financial penalty of 200 euros without the deduction of points“.

This is not the first time the DGT has sought to raise drivers’ awareness of the importance of not leaving loose objects inside a car, more specifically in the seating area, that is, in the area expressly intended for passengers.

Therefore, the imposition of a fine has a regulatory basis for incorrectly using the rear seats. The General Traffic Regulations state that “the driver of a vehicle is obliged to maintain their own freedom of movement, the necessary field of vision and permanent attention to driving, which guarantee their own safety, that of the other occupants of the vehicle and that of other road users. To this end, they must take particular care to maintain the proper position and to ensure that the other passengers do too, and the proper placement of the objects or animals transported so that there is no interference between the driver and any of them”.