"He should have fined half of Majadahonda... It's not a radar, it's a mugger." Neighbors and workers near the area of El Plantío, on its Avenida de la Victoria -belonging to the district of Moncloa-Aravaca-, denounce that, overnight and "without warning", they are being sanctioned for driving at more than 30 km/h. "All his life has gone at 50 km/h... In addition, there is no sign indicating any change," says Juan Miguel, a 26-year-old who received three fines in a row.
The exact point, according to the complaints received, was located in the vicinity of number 35 of the aforementioned avenue. This victim suspects that the perpetrator was a camouflaged car of the Madrid Municipal Police, which "put on its boots" between the last week of October and the first week of November. "I was hunted Monday, Tuesday and Thursday... And because Wednesday the 1st was a holiday and I didn't work. He riddled me with bullets. There is an eagerness to raise money," says Juan Miguel, who adds that his father also received two other recipes, as well as a multitude of friends and acquaintances.
Regarding the amount of the complaints, "there has been everything": for those who are caught at less than 50 km/h, 100 euros. If they were caught at a higher speed, from 300 euros onwards and points will be removed from the licence. "We are not fortune tellers... If you come from Madrid, which you have to cross under the Aravaca bridge, you will find a sign of 40... And if you come from Majadahonda, the signal is 60. It's absolutely helpless, and you can't risk asking for the photo to be sent to you, because you lose the option of prompt payment..."
Asked about this, the Madrid City Council explains that the Municipal Police, "after receiving complaints from residents about speeding on Avenida de la Victoria (old El Plantío road) with danger for pedestrians (including schoolchildren, as there is a school) and little signage, established a radar service in different time slots". The same device jumps, they specify from the Consistory, to 38 km/hour and report that "the generic on the road is 30 km/hour for roads with one lane in each direction of traffic, as stated in the Sustainable Mobility Ordinance".
Cars driving on Av. de la Victoria.Á. N.
And, regarding the signs, they add from the Municipal Police of the capital that they are "not" necessary, while confirming that the limit of 30 km/hour on this type of road also "is included in the General Traffic Regulations, in its modification of Article 50 of November 2020".
Despite this, it is something that does not convince many of the victims. Like Borja, who argues that "they start to control speed in an area where there are almost no accidents. And yet, on the back roads, where there are many more, they are not interested in putting them on. That's the way it is..."
Fear and "traffic jams"
Word began to spread among many of those fined, which has generated two situations: the first, a letter has been issued, as an appeal, to be presented with the aim of having the fine annulled. Some, as this newspaper has learned, have succeeded.
But, just as quickly, fear has also spread. This translates into "traffic jams", on an avenue already prone to vehicle loading, with a multitude of traffic lights. "This afternoon, Victory Avenue was paralyzed... I think the eagerness is to raise revenue. They gave me two, I paid the 100 euros but the 300 with loss of points I appealed. Even in the GPS it indicates 50 km/h as a limit," says Paloma. In the same vein, Francis adds: "No one is going to 30... Since I got the fine, I haven't exceeded that speed again. But everybody honks at me."
A dossier with images showing the road signs in the surrounding area of this avenue has also been distributed among some of those affected. All of them (two on the Majadahonda road, one on Gobelas street and another two on Victoria Avenue itself) have the same limit, 40. "I still don't know why I've been fined, I think it's very unfair. In the end I ended up paying my three fines because I didn't want to expose myself to paying double... From 150 it would have gone to 300 euros," Juan Miguel concluded.
Asked about the number of fines that could have been issued at the beginning of November in the area of El Plantío, the Municipal Police of the capital have not been able to specify a number. Some are still arriving these days, as some victims say, who with surprise and indignation are now debating whether or not to appeal.