Spain ends seatbelt exemption for urban delivery drivers from 1 October

Royal Decree 518/2026, of 24 June (BOE no. 155, published on 26 June) amends Spain’s General Traffic Regulation and removes, from 1 October 2026, the exemption in Article 119 that let urban delivery drivers skip the seatbelt during successive short-distance loading and unloading stops — the typical case of door-to-door delivery in a Spanish city centre.

What changes

Until now, a last-mile delivery driver could drive without a seatbelt between one drop-off and the next, when the stops were only metres apart. With the repeal of Article 119(3), that exemption is gone: the seatbelt becomes mandatory at all times, even on these short, repeated trips. The change is part of a wider reform of the regulation focused on protecting vulnerable road users, and it does not distinguish between last-mile operators and other urban delivery drivers.

Driving without a seatbelt remains a serious offence, carrying a €200 fine and the loss of 4 points.

The industry’s reaction

Fenadismer is calling for the measure to be reversed, arguing it is disproportionate: at the minimal speeds involved between doorways, the association says, the injury risk from not wearing a seatbelt is practically nil, and the likely effect is a wave of fines with no real road-safety gain.

What it means for hauliers leaving Portugal

The change applies to urban delivery in Spanish cities, not to long-haul transport, where drivers already wear a seatbelt throughout. Portuguese operators running last-mile or capillary delivery in Spain should adjust their drivers’ routine before 1 October, to avoid a fine at a traffic check.