Minimum speedSpain
Traffic rules
Spain
1. Minimum speed
A minimum speed is the lowest speed that vehicles are required to maintain on a particular road or under specified conditions. Minimum-speed rules are intended to prevent vehicles travelling unnecessarily slowly from disrupting traffic or creating large speed differences between road users.
A minimum speed does not require drivers to maintain that speed when traffic, weather, visibility, road conditions or safety require them to slow down. The way minimum speeds are indicated and enforced varies between countries.
What is Spain’s general minimum on motorways?
On autopistas and autovías, the general minimum is 60 km/h. The regulations also prohibit unjustifiably low speeds that obstruct normal traffic. Statutory exceptions cover circumstances such as traffic, the road or the vehicle that prevent safe compliance.
🔗 boe.es • Spain: General Traffic Regulation articles 38(2),49(1)-(3)
🔗 boe.es • Spain: official sign catalogue, Royal Decree 465/2025
How is Spain’s minimum on other roads calculated?
The general rule is half the general maximum for the relevant vehicle category and road, even when no minimum-speed sign is present. Do not simply halve any number you see: road category, vehicle class, applicable signs and statutory exceptions matter.
🔗 boe.es • Spain: General Traffic Regulation articles 38(2),49(1)-(3)
🔗 boe.es • Spain: official sign catalogue, Royal Decree 465/2025
Start of a minimum speed.
English • Traffic sign R-411 • Minimum speed. Drivers must travel at least at the indicated speed in km/h, from this sign to a different minimum speed sign, an end-of-minimum-speed sign, or a maximum speed sign with an equal or lower value.
Español • R-411 • Velocidad mínima. Obligación para los conductores de vehículos de circular, por lo menos, a la velocidad indicada por la cifra, en kilómetros por hora, que figure en la señal, desde el lugar en que esté situada hasta otra de velocidad mínima diferente, o de fin de velocidad mínima o de velocidad máxima de valor igual o inferior.
Sources
🔗 Commons.wikimedia.org
🔗 Boe.es • Reglamento General de Circulación • anexo I • catálogo vigente
🔗 Boe.es • Real Decreto 465/2025 • R-411 • página 64
SVG source: NACLE2 • CC0 • Original revision 2011-08-10. Wikimedia original unmodified.
End of the minimum speed.
English • Traffic sign R-506 • End of minimum speed. Marks where a previous minimum speed sign ceases to apply.
Español • R-506 • Fin de velocidad mínima. Señala el lugar desde donde deja de ser aplicable una señal anterior de velocidad mínima.
Sources
🔗 Commons.wikimedia.org (Gigillo83 • CC BY-SA 3.0)
🔗 Boe.es • Reglamento General de Circulación • anexo I • catálogo vigente
🔗 Boe.es • Real Decreto 465/2025 • R-506 • página 68
SVG source: Gigillo83 • CC BY-SA 3.0 • Original revision 2013-09-15. Wikimedia original unmodified.
Must I leave a Spanish motorway if an emergency forces abnormally slow travel?
Use the first available exit when an emergency forces abnormally slow motorway travel. Where travelling below the minimum creates a collision risk, use the hazard warning lights while moving. A normal traffic queue is not an instruction for every driver to leave.
🔗 boe.es • Spain: General Traffic Regulation articles 38(2),49(1)-(3)
🔗 boe.es • Spain: official sign catalogue, Royal Decree 465/2025
