A 52-year-old truck driver was intercepted by the Guardia Civil in Gran Canaria behind the wheel of a large tonnage articulated vehicle, despite his driving licence having expired five years ago due to total point depletion. The investigation did not begin during a random traffic check, but rather after authorities received a tip that a professional driver might be carrying out the activity without a valid licence to drive. Officers observed the man leaving the premises of a company at Puerto de La Luz, in Las Palmas, and intercepted him for safety reasons at the Polígono Industrial de Las Majoreras, in the municipality of Ingenio.
Analysis of the tachograph made it possible to document that the man had carried out driving work repeatedly in the two months prior to the interception, although the information published by authorities only refers to that period and not to the full five years during which the licence had been invalid. After identification, it was confirmed that the driving licence had been invalid for five years and the heavy vehicle was immobilised.
The case was referred to the Juzgado de Guardia de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. In Spain, reaching zero points triggers a procedure for loss of validity of the driving licence, and driving after being notified of this loss may constitute the crime foreseen in article 384 of the Spanish Criminal Code, punishable by three to six months in prison, a fine of 12 to 24 months, or community service for 31 to 90 days. The Guardia Civil investigated the truck driver as the presumed author of a continuing crime.
The article also notes that, in Portugal, the loss of all points leads to cancellation of the licence, but not automatically, requiring an autonomous process and notification. Once cancellation is effected, a new licence cannot be granted before two years have elapsed. However, the judicial qualification of this conduct in Portugal is not uncontroversial, with contradictory jurisprudence on whether it constitutes the crime of driving without legal qualification or a minor offence, with the Supreme Court of Justice having formally recognised the existence of contradictory decisions and ordered the continuation of an appeal for the establishment of jurisprudence.
