Riding in Spain (not quite England but close enough!)

Does anyone know the answer to this?

Apparently in Spain you are not allowed to use Sat Navs (TomTom etc) that are stuck to your windscreen in a car. My TomTom Rider fits on a bracket attached to the brake reservoir so in theory it is in a similar place (not in line of sight so doesn't hamper visability). Is this legal or are the Guardia Civil going to "feel my collar"?
Certainly need TomTom as we have no idea of where we are going otherwise!
Emperical knowledge based answers preferred over the 'I would have thought...'
Cheers,

'I would have thought...' our English member mrsimon who lives in Spain and rides a SW-T 600 will know more about this than the rest of us. He hasn't posted much since joining the forum, but he may read your topic or you could PM him.

Good idea, I'll pm him.

Cheers,

tarmacburner2 wrote:

Does anyone know the answer to this?

Apparently in Spain you are not allowed to use Sat Navs (TomTom etc) that are stuck to your windscreen in a car. My TomTom Rider fits on a bracket attached to the brake reservoir so in theory it is in a similar place (not in line of sight so doesn't hamper visability). Is this legal or are the Guardia Civil going to "feel my collar"?
Certainly need TomTom as we have no idea of where we are going otherwise!
Emperical knowledge based answers preferred over the 'I would have thought...'
Cheers,

Interesting. I've not come across this one before and will ask "in another place" of a couple of Spanish based riders.

tarmacburner2 wrote:

Certainly need TomTom as we have no idea of where we are going otherwise!
,

Where are you heading for in Spain? It was one of two possible destinations for me last year, but the time and cost factor made it a non starter then

I really want to ride in the Picos on a big trailie, but sadly me wonky knee precludes that, so a few days in the Pyrenees may have to suffice The ferry options look good, but pricey, until you work out the cost in fuel, rubber and overnighter stops, even if camping!

If noboby answers your questions, you might go to some of the websites for companies that do tours. I have seen these listed in the back of motorcycle magazines, but have never really explored them. Just a suggestion while waiting for real world help. I hope you have a great trip. sometimes getting "lost" is the best part.

There's a few UK companies that do organised tours to Europe and that's fine if you are a novice tourer, or want to travel in a group and have your itinerary planned for you, ( or a more cynical view, have your arse wiped!) I used to read a bike mag that promoted these tours a lot, and inevitably had irritating Readers Letters from first time tourers bragging about the one they had been on. It was usually written by the smug wife along the lines of " We went on our first ever tour abroad with ****** Tours on our new BMW R1200 RT, and had a great time with all the other couples that had never toured abroad before, we rode great roads, ate great food, and had a great time and do you know we didn't see another British registered bike on the roads the whole 10 days we were there.... so where we you all?"

Meldrew, I wasn't reccomending going with a tour group. I thought maybe their wesite would have information on local driving laws. I did look on one and it said "navigation devices are a gray area". I hope this is not indicative of the jail cells color. I hate it when people go to visit another place and eat at McDonalds, swim at there hotel, and refuse to venture out. Why not stay at home!

I had a quick look last night (very late) and it's apparent that one of the major points about GPS in cars - nothing about m/c but is probably the same - is that it is highly illegal to press the buttons on the thing whilst driving along, i.e. one MUST NOT reprogramme it whilst on the move.

I couldn't find anything about line-of-sight but I'll look again later.

Coupled with this it seems that a GPS which has a radar-detector or supplies information as to where fixed radar-traps are located operating is also highly illegal - all such devices are banned in Spain.

If you're planning to travel to Spain down through France this year, you probably already know the French have jumped on the bandwagon about radar speed-traps showing on GPS with heavy spot fines for offenders. They're also making motorists carry breathalyser kits, and hi-viz gear for bikers compulsory in 2012, even though they've had hi-viz/reflective stickers on helmets for years.

Hello All,

I found this on the AA website, "Apparatus with a screen which can distract a driver (such as television, video, DVD equipment) should be positioned in places where the driver is unable to see them.
This excludes GPS systems. It is prohibited to touch or program the device unless parked in a safe place."

So I think I was confusing 'use' with 'operation'.

Keep the replies coming.

Hello steveR,

We, (my mate and myself), are going to the Picos de Europa for two weeks in June. Originally we were going to do the Pyrenees and the Picos in one trip but realised there is so much to do in both areas it was daft 'rushing it'. So this trip its the Picos, next trip the Pyrenees (more specifically the N-260 which snakes it way from Biesca in the west to Puigcerda in the east. We will be going to La Seu d'Urgell and up to Andorra. We will be going with our own travel company 'Misguided Tours Unlimited' as they have never failed to get us lost in the past! I use a tracker so we can retrace our steps (MEMORY PROBLEMS!) and there are a number of roundabouts that shows we have been around them two or three times. There are no language barriers as 'Pointing' is universal!
If anyone has Google Earth check the N-260 out, detouring to Isona i Conca Della to take the L-511 to Coll de Nargo, where we will stop for a drink and possibly fill the tanks with petrol and ride the road back to Isona. (We may do this more than once!)

BTW, I will be on the Silverwing, my mate on his Honda CBF1000 so no 'trail riding'.

Meldrew wrote:

If you're planning to travel to Spain down through France this year, you probably already know the French have jumped on the bandwagon about radar speed-traps showing on GPS with heavy spot fines for offenders. They're also making motorists carry breathalyser kits, and hi-viz gear for bikers compulsory in 2012, even though they've had hi-viz/reflective stickers on helmets for years.

The frog cops have long been v.unhappy about radar/lidar detectors, though I was unaware of issues with GPS flag-ups. A bit daft unless the traps are for revenue raising and that never happens, oh no...*

Better remove my camera warning setting then before next trip. Mind, the mobile units are VERY mobile and are rarely flagged up, but local motorists soon give you a flash as a warning

I love riding in France, but Benelux/Germany is more friendly and has better campsites.

* With the french economy going totally tits up, it may well be that Leetle Nicolas has told Les flics to rake in whatever they can from Les Rosbifs!!

If you're going to drive from France into Spain, make it a point to drive through Andorra! The twisties are unbelievable. Almost as good as the Dragons Tail in NC. Plus the added benefit that Andorra is Duty Free and Tax free, and the price of fuel is much less than any other country in Europe except Luxembourg.