We often witness violations on the road that could be considered a sanction. But it is not usual that, in addition to witnessing the infraction, we have evidence that attests to what happened. And even less than as private citizens we decide to file a complaint with the Civil Guard, the regional police, or the Local Police.
The procedures by which a citizen denounces a driver are not simple, nor usual, and require evidence, which on this occasion has been a video, which has not been made public, that those affected provided to the Civil Guard. But in this case we are not talking about any infraction, but about a reckless overtaking in which the occupants of another vehicle and three cyclists were endangered. The RACE said in this regard that “there are not many users who are encouraged to make this type of complaint, either due to ignorance of this option, or because of the difficulty of initiating the sanctioning procedure.”
But, as we will see below, in the case at hand, the identification and complaint of the reckless driver prospered. And today we already know that this type of complaint can be initiated and that it can succeed.
Individuals do not usually report this type of conduct, but the provision of evidence such as the video of this case can lead to the imputation of a crime for reckless driving
DGT file video of improper overtaking of cyclists
A reckless overtaking of a vehicle and two cyclists
counts the newspaper The province that the Traffic Group of the Civil Guard of the Las Palmas Traffic Subsector has been investigating a 57-year-old man, who was driving a vehicle on November 7 on the GC-21 highway, in the municipality of Teror, in meaning Las Palmas. A section frequented by cyclists, narrow and with some very tight curves, the typical road with large unevenness that we can find in a steep island area.
The investigation focused on an alleged crime against Road Safety for reckless driving. The driver would have made a prohibited overtaking, a vehicle and two bicycles, while another cyclist was circulating in the opposite direction. The driver went ahead with the maneuver and allegedly endangered the three cyclists and the occupants of the vehicle.
According to this information, The Traffic Group carried out an investigation thanks to a video, with some images recorded and provided by those affected, with which it was possible to carry out the analysis to initiate the corresponding sanction. Traffic was able to identify the offending vehicle, thanks to the license plate, and the information they had was clear enough to identify the driver. At that time, the investigators also discovered that the identified driver was doing it without a valid permit, for having “lost its validity in accordance with a final court ruling.”
The Traffic Group was able to carry out the investigation, identify the vehicle, and even the driver, thanks to the video provided by those affected
DGT file video of an overtaking putting cyclists at risk
With evidence, such as a video, reckless driving can be reported
Reckless driving is included in the Articles 380 and 381 of the Penal Codewhich establishes that reckless driving can be punished with the following sanctions:
- Prison sentences from six months to two years, which can go up to five years if there is “manifest contempt for the lives of others”
- Fine of twelve to twenty-four months
- Deprivation of the right to drive motor vehicles and mopeds for a period of more than one and up to six years, and up to ten years in the most serious cases
It is also important to highlight that it is possible to report an alleged crime of reckless driving although, for the complaint to prosper, it is important to provide all the evidence that we have. It is not usual for us to record the road, among other things because the driver is prohibited from using a camera or mobile phone while he is driving. But it is possible that a companion can record the scene or, as in the case at hand, that the recording has been used by means of action cameras (often used by cyclists and motorcyclists) or by type cameras dash camwhose images can not only be used to carry out a complaint for reckless driving, but also to clarify what happened in traffic accidents that we have witnessed.
