At about 17:00 on Monday 2 November, Guardia Civil traffic officers stopped the taxi carrying Arturo Pérez-Reverte on Madrid’s A-6. Reports placed the stop at about 16:58 at kilometre 20.9, travelling in the decreasing-kilometre direction. The 74-year-old writer was in the rear-right seat; the citation says his seat belt was either not fastened or not being worn correctly.
Pérez-Reverte said on X that he paid €100 by using the early-payment discount, half of the original €200 penalty. He said the officers were justified and the procedure was correct, while wishing them good service. The offence carries no deduction of driving-licence points: he was a passenger, not the driver. Seat-belt obligations apply to passengers in taxis as well as other vehicles unless a specific exemption applies.
The citation classifies the breach as serious and refers to article 76(h) of the Código de Circulación. It records the stop at kilometre 20.9 on the A-6, in the decreasing-kilometre direction, and identifies Pérez-Reverte as a passenger in the taxi’s rear-right seat.
RUSSPAIN has also reported on used Seat patrol SUVs; this case concerns a passenger’s seat-belt use, rather than a vehicle sale.
