The falsification of the sticker of the Technical Inspection of Vehicles (ITV) has become a worrying illegal practice that, in addition to putting road safety at risk, constitutes a criminal offense. The manipulation and falsification of this official document may seem like a tempting solution to avoid compliance with legal requirements, but the consequences derived from these actions are much more serious than most people imagine.
Tüv Rheinland, which has nearly 40 ITV stations throughout Spain, recently revealed some of the biggest botch jobs that its inspectors have discovered in the vehicles inspected in recent years. There are scams of all kinds. From belts sewn with knots and staples to mirrors repaired with electrical tape, ITV station employees are used to seeing sheer nonsense every day.
One of the manipulations denounced by Tüv Rheinland that draws the most attention is the ITV label corresponding to the year 2018 that we reproduce at the beginning of this information. As you can see in the image, it is a complete fake. The preparation of the label is so deficient that from the first moment it is obvious that it is a hoax carried out without any scruples.
Falsifying the ITV emblem, as well as manipulating it or using that of another vehicle, is a crime of document falsification that is punishable by imprisonment. A Supreme Court ruling states that the unauthorized use of the sticker, which indicates that the ITV has been exceeded, “is constitutive of the crime of use of false certification of article 399.2 of the Penal Code.”
The Penal Code indicates that the crime of documentary falsification occurs when a person alters, modifies, simulates or falsifies a document or part of it. The fine is from 6,000 to 12,000 and the prison sentence is from 3 to 6 months.
Prison sentences of less than two years are only executed when the convicted person has a criminal record. However, the latest reform of the Penal Code allows the judge to agree to the suspension of a prison sentence of less than two years, even if the convicted person has a criminal record that has not been cancelled, provided that the rest of the required conditions are met.
The employer association of the AECA-ITV vehicle inspection stations calculates that more than 30% of the vehicles that circulate on Spanish roads do so with the expired ITV. Guillermo Magaz, managing director of AECA-ITV, points out that the years with the highest absenteeism at the ITV are also those with the highest road accident rate. “A vehicle with a defect is more likely to suffer or cause a road accident,” Magaz points out, emphasizing the aging of the Spanish fleet with an average age of about 14 years.
In addition to the stipulated fine for falsifying or manipulating the ITV sticker, as well as for using that of another vehicle, as we have seen previously, there are a series of sanctions associated with the Technical Vehicle Inspection. We review them below.
In the event that the result of the inspection is unfavorable, we can only drive the car to go to the workshop to correct the deficiencies and, once the errors are corrected, return to the ITV station. Failure to comply with the regulations entails a fine of 200 euros without loss of points.
When the result of the ITV is negative, the car is immobilized immediately. It can only be transferred by crane to the workshop to be fixed and to demonstrate again at an ITV station that it is repaired. Failure to comply with the regulations carries a fine of 500 euros.
Tüv Rheinland reports other homemade fixes that its employees have found when inspecting the vehicles under review. We are going to review some of those botched jobs that have not gone unnoticed and have led to a negative result.
Many users resort to zip ties and duct tape to try to prevent the presence of sharp or sharp edges in the bodywork from causing the ITV result to be unfavorable. In the following image we see how the owner of a car tries to hide a deficiency in the body of his vehicle, of the same color, with black electrical tape.
The belt is one of the most important passive safety elements that a car equips and is mandatory in all seats. However, if the state of this element is not appropriate, it will have no effect in the event of an accident. For this reason, the car that tried to pass the ITV with a broken belt with knots and staples received an unfavorable result.
Tüv Rheinland denounces that some drivers use devices to deceive the oxygen sensor, as well as liquids that are added to the gasoline tank to reduce the emission of exhaust gases.
