Mistakes made by government agencies can lead to unexpected and unpleasant consequences for ordinary citizens. In Spain, another case of bureaucratic confusion has turned into a real ordeal for a young mother from Santiago de Compostela: she was fined for an offense she physically could not have committed, and now she has to fight to restore justice.
In May 2025, Macarena, a resident of Galicia, received a notice of a fine by mail from the Directorate-General for Traffic (DGT). The letter claimed that she had been driving a truck on the A-52 highway in the province of Zamora while talking on her mobile phone behind the wheel. However, at the time of the alleged offense, the woman was in Santiago and had just become a mother for the third time.
An unexpected fine
The situation seemed absurd: Macarena had never driven trucks, she does not have the proper category of driver’s license, and the vehicle listed in the fine does not belong to her. Moreover, on the day the violation supposedly took place, she was working at the local health department. Despite these obvious inconsistencies, the fine was issued in her name, with a penalty of 200 euros and an immediate deduction of six points from her driving license.
The family was shocked by what was happening. Macarena’s husband, Javier, went to the Santiago traffic office to resolve the situation. However, the agency’s staff insisted that since the fine had been issued, the violation must have actually occurred. Arguments about the impossibility of being in two places at once and the lack of the required license category were not taken into account.
Bureaucratic hurdles
Macarena decided not to give up and filed an official appeal, attaching documents confirming she was at work at the time of the alleged offense. Despite strong evidence, the review process dragged on for months. During this time, points had already been deducted from her driver’s license, and the fine remained unpaid.
According to Autobild, such errors by the DGT are not uncommon, but it is by no means always possible to get them corrected quickly. In Macarena’s case, the bureaucracy proved too slow, while human error made things worse. She found herself embroiled in a lengthy correspondence with the agency, spending time and nerves trying to prove her innocence.
A personal battle
The situation is especially absurd considering that at the time the fine was issued, Macarena was in the postpartum period, caring for her newborn and two other children. Driving a truck hundreds of kilometers from home was simply impossible. Nonetheless, she had to collect documents, prove her location, and explain obvious things to road authorities.
The family encountered indifference and a formalistic approach from officials. Even after submitting all the required paperwork, no decision was made on the case, and points disappeared from her driver’s license. Macarena highlights that she spent a great deal of time and effort fighting an error that was not her fault.
Macarena’s case has become an example of how a single bureaucratic mistake can lead to serious consequences for an ordinary person. Losing points, facing the threat of license suspension, and having to go to court—all this became a reality for a woman who, in the system’s eyes, was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The Directorate General of Traffic (Dirección General de Tráfico, DGT) is a Spanish government agency responsible for road safety, enforcement of traffic regulations, and the issuance of driver’s licenses. The organization regularly adopts new technologies to detect violations; however, system errors do occur, sometimes leading to contentious situations. In such cases, citizens are forced to prove their innocence on their own, facing bureaucratic red tape and the need to defend their rights.
