At 00:00 on Friday, September 15, the Madrid City Council has activated six new section radars and 257 cameras with optical readers to control traffic in the city’s Low Emissions Zone (ZBE). The fact that they are already operating does not mean that they are already issuing fines. The council has established a grace period of four months, so that drivers will begin to be sanctioned as of January 15, 2024.
During this time, people who comment on an infraction detected by the aforementioned devices will receive an informative communication. It should be noted that they will be reported and, therefore, sanctioned if they are caught by authority agents in charge of traffic surveillance or by any other automated control device that is not expressly subject to a notice period.
For example, since May 2, 2022, the identification of vehicles that circulate improperly through the ZBE is carried out with fifteen photo-red devices, which are now complemented by the launch of the new cameras located on the M-30 and its interior. At the end of this article, you will find the location of the 257 devices that are already active.
And which cars are currently not allowed to circulate in this area? According to the Sustainable Mobility Ordinance, these are passenger cars with environmental classification A – those that lack an environmental badge from the DGT – whose owner is not registered in Madrid nor has paid the Mechanical Traction Tax (IVTM) in the capital before. from January 1, 2022.
All owners of passenger cars who violate the regulations in force for Madrid ZBE during the notice period and are intercepted by the devices that begin to work will receive a letter informing them that they cannot travel through this part of the city and who will be punished later.
With the entry into force of the latest modification of the Law on Traffic, Circulation of Motor Vehicles and Road Safety, skipping access restrictions to low emission zones is considered a serious infraction that entails the payment of 200 euros without any deduction. of points.
The calendar that the Madrid council will apply establishes that as of January 1, 2024, the aforementioned vehicles will be prohibited from accessing and circulating on all urban public roads in the municipality of Madrid. From 2025, this prohibition will also apply to all class A passenger cars, including those that are domiciled in Madrid and that are registered in the city’s IVTM register. From that date on, unlabeled vehicles other than passenger cars (trucks, vans, motorcycles and mopeds) will also not be able to access or circulate through the capital, which until December 31, 2024 had no restrictions.
In this way, the entire municipal area will progressively become a low emissions zone (Madrid ZBE), coexisting with the two Special Protection ZBEs that are in force, Distrito Centro and Plaza Elíptica, which have more restrictive access criteria.
