Speed limitSpain
5. Speed limit
A speed limit is the maximum legal speed permitted on a road, lane or within a designated area. It may be established by general traffic law or indicated by fixed, variable or temporary traffic signs.
A speed limit is a maximum, not a target speed. Drivers must travel more slowly whenever traffic, visibility, weather, road conditions, vulnerable road users or the condition of the vehicle make the maximum permitted speed unsafe.
Wikimedia.org • Sukkoria • CC BY-SA
Which general speed limits should car drivers know in Spain?
For ordinary cars, urban defaults are 20 km/h where pavement and carriageway share one level, 30 km/h with one traffic lane in each direction, and 50 km/h with two or more in each direction. Rural defaults are 90 km/h on conventional roads and 120 km/h on motorways. Authorised signs and specific road-category exceptions can establish another limit.
🔗 boe.es • Spain: official sign catalogue, Royal Decree 465/2025
May I exceed the Spanish limit by 20 km/h when overtaking?
No. The former 20 km/h allowance for cars and motorcycles overtaking on conventional roads was removed. An overtaking manoeuvre must remain within the applicable limit; an older handbook describing that allowance is out of date.
🔗 boe.es • Spain: official sign catalogue, Royal Decree 465/2025
Are reserved lanes counted when deciding Spain’s general urban limit?
Lanes reserved for particular users or public transport are not counted when deciding whether the urban default is based on one or two traffic lanes in each direction. Read the actual layout and signs; a bus lane does not automatically turn a 30 km/h street into a 50 km/h street.
🔗 boe.es • Spain: official sign catalogue, Royal Decree 465/2025

Traffic rules
Spain