AP7 Benidorm turnoff

The governing PP party is proposing to increase the speed limit on toll roads to 140 km per hour and has filed a motion to debate it in parliament. The main reason for this is that traffic on toll roads, for which there is a charge, has fallen drastically since the beginning of the crisis and many are now on the brink of bankruptcy! The tolls are owned and managed by private companies on a contract, enabling them to claw back the cost of the construction and maintenance.

According to Parliamentary studies carried out in conjunction with experts and the Ministry of Interior,  it is deemed that the toll roads have a higher standard of safety therefore " not a risk rate". They also want to unify the limits on all secondary roads to 90 km per hour. Currently limits can vary on these roads anywhere between 80 - 100km making it difficult for the motorist to know if he is within the limit on a particular stretch of road. I should think that the Guardia Civil Traffico aren´t too pleased with that as they catch many motorists out where speed limits vary on the same stretch of road!

Toll booths

The hope is that if the increase is passed more motorists will switch to the toll roads because they will technically get to their destination faster... and at the same time help the companies which manage these roads. Paco Vaño, who is proposing this change stressed that they are not suggesting unlimited speed limits but only an increase of 20 km per hour on what is a very safe stretch of motorway.

Automatic payment machine at toll booth

For those of you that are going to use the toll road, the ticket booths are now all automatic. When you come to your exit to pay, you can either use a debit/credit card or cash... which gives change back. You place the cash - separate slot for notes and coins and when your payment is received the light on the panel turns green and the barrier opens.

In March 2011 the limit was temporarily reduced to 110km p/hr with the reason given that it was suppose to help drivers save money on rising fuel prices, but only lasted until 1st July - maybe they realised how silly it made them look! But Spanish drivers are often a law unto themselves when it comes to driving. They take no notice of the solid white line, especially I find on the single lane section of the N332 driving to the airport. They insist on overtaking at every conceivable point and whether they have a clear line of vision ahead or not does not appear to deter them. Why don´t they just take the AP7 toll instead where there are 2 lanes?