Do you need to wear a helmet in Spain?
This question could be better phrased: Is it required by law to wear a helmet in Spain?
Well, the short answer is: it depends.
There is a mandatory helmet law for cyclists in Spain, but it is seldom enforced. I’ll explain below.
Are you required by law to wear a helmet in Spain?
Yes. But there are four notable exceptions:
1. You don’t need to wear a helmet in Spain if you are in an urban area.
Since 2004, it has been mandatory to wear a helmet for all cyclists outside urban areas. It is not required in urban areas. In 2013, it was made mandatory for all cyclists, everywhere, to wear a helmet, even in urban areas. This was met by opposition from council bodies and the new law was quickly overturned. However, it is still necessary for under 16’s to wear a helmet at all times. The definition of “urban area” is quite loose and everything bigger than a couple of houses should qualify.
2. You don’t need to wear a helmet in Spain if it’s too hot.
What classifies as too hot? Probably anywhere in the south of Spain from May-September, or all of Spain from June-August. The exception applies because wearing a helmet in extreme heat is pretty uncomfortable, and would completely deter some from cycling at all.
3. You don’t need to wear a helmet in Spain if you are going up a hill.
Convenient as I usually find that if I’m not in an urban area, and it’s not that hot, I’m going up a hill.
4. You don’t need to wear a helmet in Spain if you are a professional.
Get paid for cycling a bicycle? Great, then you are probably already subject to hundreds of rules, one of which is that you must wear a helmet at all times!
The Guardia Civil have responsibility alone for enforcing this law. It is seldom enforced as they have better things to do.
I bought a helmet in Barcelona, where I became aware of the law, but I never actually wore it…it just dangled off the back of my bike until I lost it in the forest at Beneficio. In total I cycled about 3,000km around Spain without a helmet (my reasons I will not discuss here) and passed or was passed by over 50 police cars and was never stopped. Only once was I stopped in Galicia, whilst travelling through a road block. I’m sure the police had nothing exciting to do there. There were six police cars, and I had got through the first five, when the last guard stopped me. He stuck out his hand, that formidable policeman’s palm, to say stop. I high-fived him and kept cycling.
Just kidding.
Here’s what happened:
I explained that I lost my helmet in the woods (albeit over 1,000km ago) and pointed to the woods. This is exactly what the cop said:
“That’s OK. When you want, buy a new.”
“When you want.” I’m sure he meant “when you can,” but I couldn’t question the law, could I? And, as I didn’t want to buy another helmet, I followed his advice.
So do you need to wear a helmet to cycle in Spain?
I think it’s more of a personal choice than anything, as this law is rarely enforced.
See all my posts on cycle touring in Spain here.
I was stopped on the ME 24 between Santandria and Cala ‘n Bosch in Menorca and threatened with arrest because I wasn’t
wearing a helmet. The policeman told me that helmets are required on any 100km/hour road. The fine is EUR 200 for the first
offense. This short route is a speed
trap where motorists are also stopped and given fines.
That’s a good thing because helmets are useless all they do is limit visibility and cause fainting.
I was stopped today by two policemen about 20 kilometers outside of a mid-sized City. They tried to tell me I needed a helmet but did not seem prepared to detain me in any way nor were they successful in communicating in English since my Spanish is limited. This is my 4th day bicycling in Spain and the first time I was stopped for not wearing a helmet. I also wasn’t wearing a shirt and I had over the ear headphones on so I could hear the directions my phone was giving. The headphones do not block outside sound so I couldn’t hear everything including the officer quite clearly.
Ultimately they just gave up since it was too hard to communicate.
I have crossed Spain three times in the last five years without a helmet and no policemen has ever stopped me for being bare-headed. In fact – I was stopped by two Guardia Civil policemen last year when cycling without a helmet in the middle of the mountains because one of them wanted advice on what type of pannier to buy. My lack of a helmet was not mentioned.
By the way, I am quite certain that there is a fifth (but unwritten) addition to the four exceptions you mention above: namely, foreign tourists. The result is that the police just don’t want to get involved enforcing a silly law that has lots of exceptions.
Thanks for your take, John. I’ve heard about this tourist rule too, but couldn’t verify it.
Their laws are as watertight as a sieve by the sounds of things.