The provincial court of Malaga upheld a nine-month prison sentence for reckless driving after a man drove without a licence and was seen exceeding 200km/h on the motorway between Fuengirola and Malaga. The court also upheld a two-year driving ban and a 16-month fine with a daily rate of ten euros.
Malaga ruling on 18 November 2024
The case stems from the evening of 18 November 2024, when police noticed a car overtaking other vehicles and swerving erratically through traffic. Around 8.15pm, the defendant had picked up his wife and children, then drove to the Miramar shopping centre in Fuengirola with them still in the car.
The court said the driving was continuous zigzagging that endangered other road users and the defendant's own vehicle. It also said the police following him reduced their speed and increased their distance to avoid endangering other road users.
National Police testimony
The appeal turned on whether the police account was enough without speed cameras, recordings or photographs. The defendant argued the statements could not support a conviction for reckless driving, but the court said the two police officers gave clear, consistent accounts without relevant contradictions.
The ruling said a driver being followed can estimate speed by watching the speedometer reading. It also said the conviction did not depend only on proving the vehicle was travelling at exactly 200 kilometres per hour, because the zigzagging and indiscriminate overtaking already showed dangerous driving.
Fuengirola and Malaga vehicle trail
The car did not belong to the defendant. He had borrowed it from a woman who had rented it a week earlier at Malaga Airport, and she was acquitted because it was not sufficiently proven that she knew he lacked a driving licence.
The same vehicle was later located near two bars that sustained damage according to the rental company's GPS signal. The ruling leaves the sentence, the driving ban and the fine in place for the defendant, while the police account remains the basis for the conviction despite the absence of technical images.
