Published 30 August 2026 | Community

TL;DR: DGT figures show that 192,620 drivers in Almeria have received point-related sanctions, with speeding the leading cause. A total of 7,285 people have lost their licences completely.

192,620 drivers sanctioned in Almeria

More than one million driving-licence points have been removed from motorists in Almeria since Spain introduced its points-based licence system, according to the latest figures from the Direccion General de Trafico (DGT).

The province currently has more than 448,000 drivers, equivalent to around 60% of its total population. Since the system was introduced, 192,620 Almeria drivers have been sanctioned in cases involving the loss of points. That represents 42% of the province’s driving population.

Across those cases, 1,108,841 points were deducted in connection with 318,868 offences. Spanish driving licences can carry a maximum of 15 points, with the final balance depending on a driver’s record and conduct on the road.

Speeding leads sanctions

Excessive speed is by far the most common reason for a points-related penalty in Almeria. DGT data records around 93,000 sanctions for speeding, involving approximately 83,600 drivers.

The next-largest category concerns the failure to wear a seat belt. More than 45,800 penalties have been issued for this reason, affecting almost 37,000 people.

Using a mobile phone while driving resulted in more than 35,500 fines involving 43,600 Almeria drivers. Alcohol offences accounted for a further 43,400 sanctions against 34,900 people who exceeded the permitted level.

The figures also point to some repeated offending among those who have received penalties carrying the loss of points. However, only a relatively small share of licence holders in the province have reached zero points and lost their driving entitlement completely.

Thousands lost their licences

By this summer, 7,285 people in Almeria had lost their driving licences permanently. This is 1.6% of the province’s total driving census.

Of that group, 2,364 had not yet recovered their licences. Among them, 880 had already completed the required training course aimed at sanctioned drivers.

Recovering points is not simply an administrative process. Drivers must take specific courses, and the province has 12 authorised centres available to provide them. The limited number of centres gives these organisations a central role for people seeking to regain either some or all of their driving entitlement.

Training centres record long-term demand

Over the past two decades, 23,288 sanctioned drivers in Almeria have attended authorised academies for rehabilitation and awareness courses. Together, those centres have delivered 2,414 courses, averaging around 120 each year.

The largest group, 1,247 participants, attended courses to recover all of the points they had lost. A similar number, 1,192, took part in programmes designed to restore points partially.

These figures show that the points system has involved more than fines and deductions. For thousands of drivers, it has also meant attending formal education before returning to the road with a restored licence balance.

DGT highlights education

In its report marking 20 years of the points-based driving licence in Spain, the Ministerio del Interior and the DGT describe driver education as an essential part of the system.

The report says that awareness and road-safety courses have been useful both for recovering points and for preventing further offences. It also highlights the use of specific teaching methods, the participation of road-crash victims and the adaptation of course content to different types of offenders.

For Almeria, the latest figures present a mixed picture. Most drivers retain their licences, but the scale of the sanctions is substantial: more than 318,000 offences linked to the removal of points and over a million points taken from local driving permits. Speed remains the main issue identified by the DGT, followed by seat-belt offences, mobile-phone use and driving over the alcohol limit.

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