Bandits on the Madrid motorways

[axarquian]

Hello,

I have just driven down from Bilbao and passed through Madrid around lunchtime yesterday. I was requested to stop by two men in an old blue Nissan car, one was showing me a silver object in a box which presumably was meant to represent a police badge. Having read of similar events on this forum I decided not to stop. I pretended to use my mobile phone, on doing this their car sped off. Have others had a similar experience this year ? (I recall that a gang were arrested a year or so ago and that this form of robbery had stopped). Theirs was an unmarked car, do the Spanish police ever use unmarked police cars ? (I have this terrible thought of being shot at if I I do not stop and they are genuine police !).

[gerryh]

You did the right thing. Obviously bandits.
The police do use unmarked police cars.
I have seen them in the Malaga area, they do have flashing blue lights behind the grill which they use when stopping someone.

Cheers
Gerry

[princess peach]

they most certainly do use unmarked cars!
we have been stopped a few times by various ford focus·s.usually dark green or burgundy.They (so i have been told)hire them from the local car hire places.
I dont think they would stand much chance of catching you in an old blue nissan.
The unmarked cars usually contain 3 people/policia.all dressed casually,not in uniform.Im sure they have some form of portable siren which they put on the roof too.

[pigs-might-fly]

I've seen a fairly old Renault Laguna parked in our slip road at KM 142 on the A7. Uniformed Guardia inside, plus a radar gun. Just down the road at the next roundabout (Aldea Beach) two Guardia vehicles, numerous Green Police and at least two cars pulled and details being taken!

[pilgrim]

Silver lancia (Is that how you spell it?)with rader gun on the way to Sevilla airport in a 80km bit!!!

[Don]

The guardia have long had quite a fleet of not-so-new cars fitted for speed traps. Often seen parked up at side of road with black dome on the front grill. Then a way down the road you find the uniformed guardia with car or bikes pulling the guilty over. Usually if you spot it even the trap car driver is uniformed but otherwise unmarked although they are fitted with radios and are never hire cars. However it was publicised last year that Spain has invested in a fleet of new unmarked, but fully equipped, patrol cars. Blue lights and flashing spotlights on front grill, radio aerial and all the usual mods but no paint job. Axarquian did exactly right in that you will know 100% if you are pulled over by a genuine Guardia patrol and if you are in doubt then use of mobile phone and even camera in mobile phone will likely send the bandits scarpering.

[julian]

if you are in doubt and wrong the use of mobile phone will result in another fine! can´t win really !!

[RichardCoeurdeLion]

Keep a cheap digi camera in your glove box to point at any suspected bogus police.

[spanish_lad]

i´ve been pulled for speeding by a heavily modified renault savanna before... that was the camera car and then the guardia were further up the road

[keddyboy]

God knows why all the fuss, these 'bandits' have been around for years and will no doubt continue to do so. Whats new?????????
Try waving a bit of tin back at them!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[princess peach]

the unmarked ford focus·s/hire cars that we have been stopped by are just patrolling around the urbanisations.NOT being used for speed traps
They did not have any radios fitted in the car-they used a mobile phone.
We had an incident not so long ago where three girls on mopeds-scratched down the side of our car with 3- 2 metre canes that they were carrying each.we pulled over along with the girls to check the damage and the unmarked police car(ford focus)had beaten us to it.they had seen the girls with their canes.We actually thought they were friends of the girls until they showed us their police badges,the policia, were young and in jeans and t shirts..They sorted out all the insurance papers for us etc...and used their MOBILE....not RADIO-to call and check ours and the girls details/docs.

[Don]

And there is the difference between Policia, not Guardia Civil.

Guardia Civil can afford radios and need them to keep in touch with their helicoptera. They also have bigger guns and are trained to use them. The poor local Policia are at the mercy of the town hall budgets.

[princess peach]