Better Watch Out!

Give us your money or your car!


We sang this song as little children as Christmas approached: "Better watch out, better not cry, better be good I'm telling you why, Santa Clause is coming to town." That was fine then, but we're all grown up now, and while it's still O.K. to sing the refrain we need to substitute that it's the police who are coming to town and they are stepping up their efforts to extract money from you and me as drivers. Every town's coffers are dry. We, here in Spain have sailed through periods of spend, spend, spend, and now the chickens are coming home to roost.


Who, and where else is fast money to come from other than the soft targets that we drivers make. We could cooperate and continue to do things as we have always done, and pour money into the modern highwayman's bags, that are the police, or we can make life difficult by sticking to the rules and being obediant. That just sticks in my throat saying that, but frankly I don't have the money to bail out the town hall, I can hardly pay the bills I am already saddled with.


What are they picking on? Speeding, of course. Parking the wrong way along two way streets. Double parking; not fully coming to a stop, where required; parking in spaces maked "Vacio siempre; parking along streets that are designated no parking at any time, even although the signs have long faded; over staying the allotted time for parking. Driving your car beyond the date designated for renewal of the ITV examination. Not having insurance is a true no-no; and if you are still driving a foreign plated car that should have been re-matriculated for Spanish plates, your time is up. They will simply take the whole car.


To be forewarned is to be forearmed, so they say, so I hope you will take this seriously. The one thing I have learnt is that the local police will not enjoy taking these steps against their neighbours. The other guys, I'm not so sure.


Copyright (c) 2012 Eugene Carmichael