While the British Ambassador to Spain, Hugh Elliott, continues to negotiate a deal with the Spanish authorities to resolve the problem facing British residents who have not exchanged their British driving licence for a Spanish one and, under the current situation, cannot drive on their UK licence, the Spanish traffic department is considering complicating things even further for drivers.
It appears there are plans to change the present traffic laws which will mean that drivers in Spain aged over 65 will have to renew their licences every five years instead of ten.
For drivers over the age of 70, they could be forced to renew their licences every two years and carry out a free medical examination.
The proposed changes are part of a new effort to tighten road safety and reduce the number of accidents, but with thousands of British residents facing the daunting prospect of having to take a Spanish driving test if the UK and Spain fail to reach an agreement over the validity of UK licences in Spain, if the new changes are introduced, it will complicate life for Britons living in Spain even further.
This week a petition to the UK parliament has been launched after Spain announced that UK driving licences for British expats would no longer be valid.
The British Embassy in Madrid has been working long and hard to try and resolve the issue and the ambassador has said that he is confident of a deal being reached and he and his team are doing all they can to make it happen.
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These aren't "changes". I believe it's been the law in Spain since... 1970 or something? Again, every country on the planet requires legal residents who drive to obtain a driving licence in that country. What entitles Brits be exempt from this when living abroad? People living in the UK have to have a UK driving licence (if they want to drive). I can't understand how anyone could be blind to the egregious exceptionalism in this.
You need to get your facts right Humphrey.