A former Civil Guard officer explodes upon seeing a cycling event open to traffic: 'This is incredible.'

Former Traffic Police officer Juan Carlos Toribio, in one of his latest posts on his YouTube channel (Desterrado), shows a situation he encountered on a Cantabrian road where a cycling race was taking place.

At the event, the former Civil Guard officer stated that regulations were not being followed, as the competition was open to traffic , and Toribio himself even crosses the finish line on his motorcycle in the video. He also indicated that there were no warnings about the traffic jams caused by the cycling event .

Which roads in Spain have a bicycle label?

What regulations did the cycling event violate?

Toribio specifies that said cycling event violated Royal Decree 1428/2003 , which modified Annex II of the General Traffic Regulations regarding Sports Events, Cycling Marches and other events .

The former Civil Guard refers to Article 4 of the annex, which states that "sporting events will be held with traffic completely closed to users outside the event, and they will have exclusive use of the roads in the space between the opening vehicle with a red flag and the closing vehicle with a green flag." This situation does not correspond to the one Toribio himself encountered in the Vuelta a Besaya (Cantabria) race, as shown in the video.

What authorizations are required to hold a sporting event?

Article 2 of the first section of Annex II of the General Traffic Regulations specifies the processing of authorization applications:

"The authority to issue the authorization to hold a sporting event will correspond to:

a) To the autonomous body Central Traffic Headquarters , when the test route takes place on roads in more than one autonomous community.

b) To the corresponding autonomous community and the cities of Ceuta and Melilla, when the test is carried out entirely on roads located within their territorial scope .

c) To the city council, when the test takes place entirely within the urban area , excluding crossings.

What are cycling marches according to the RGC?

In the second section of the same annex to the General Traffic Regulations, it is stated that "organized cycling events shall be understood as those activities with more than 50 cyclists " that are "conceived as physical exercise for sporting, tourist or cultural purposes."

Furthermore, it is also specified that bicycle rides "will be carried out with traffic open, although in certain circumstances or at certain times, the option of closing certain areas to traffic while cyclists are passing may be considered."

However, "all tests will be preceded by an authority officer with a red flag and ended by another with a green flag, who will delimit the start and end of the space occupied by the test for participants and other road users."