Police or Civil Guard checks on the road are a common circumstance in order to reinforce road safety. Therefore, it is expected that any driver will encounter one sooner or later and it is imperative to know how to act in this situation. Even if they know with certainty that you have not committed any infraction, many people get nervous when they come across a checkpoint and this causes them to fall into erratic behavior – even if it is without bad intentions – that only hinders the work of the agents.
Therefore, it is important that you know how to act if you come across a police checkpoint. First of all, you have to know how to recognize the checkpoint and the stop sign. You will see cones or vertical signs that indicate the presence of a checkpoint and you must slow down when you approach one of them, regardless of whether you have been asked to stop. You will know that you have to go through the police checkpoint and stop there if an officer indicates it with a raised arm. Again, you must reduce your speed, indicate your direction with your turn signal and stop in a safe place, away from the flow of traffic and at a safe distance from the agents.
Once you have stopped at the police checkpoint, the most important thing you should keep in mind is to remain calm, act normally and facilitate the work of the officers. Make sure you are respectful and polite, answer their questions clearly, do not lie, do not withhold information and do not disrespect the agents, which could be resolved with a sanction.
You must turn off the vehicle’s engine and, if it is night, turn on the interior light in the passenger compartment. Do not remove your seat belt or get out of the car unless asked to do so by officers. Lower the car window and place your hands in sight to banish any suspicion of a threat.
Listen carefully to the instructions of the agents, who will ask you for your personal documentation and the vehicle documentation, which you must always have on board and with all the papers in order. Remember that it is also valid to show them your driving license in the miDGT app, without having to carry the physical license.
It should be noted that skipping a police check or fleeing from it constitutes an administrative infraction, punishable by a fine of 200 euros and the withdrawal of four points from the license. Furthermore, if you are disrespectful towards an agent, you can be charged with a crime of resistance to authority, recognized in article 556 of the Penal Code, or an attack if it reaches the extreme of aggression, contemplated in article 550 of the Penal Code.
