A Romanian man who drove his vehicle carrying his wife and two children in the opposite direction on the AP-7 motorway last week justified his actions by saying that he had no money to pay the toll.
The man had driven his vehicle along the AP-7 and arrived at the toll booths at La Zenia. Unable to pay the toll, he decided to turn his vehicle around and drive 8 kilometres in the opposite direction before the Guardia Civil intercepted him at kilometre 755 in the San Miguel area of the Alicante to Cartagena motorway.
The man wasted tested for alcohol and drugs, both of which were negative, and gave the explanation to the arresting officers. Despite his actions, it is believed that there was no immediate risk to other road users at the time.
There is an established protocol in place for dealing with drivers who have no immediate means of payment. In this circumstance, the toll booth operator would take a copy of the driver´s identity documents and the vehicle´s details and issue a notice to the driver with details of a bank account to pay into within a specified time. Failure to pay would then result in the driver being reported for an offence. Repeat offenders face having their vehicle immobilised until the Guardia Civil arrive to deal with the driver. However, in genuine cases, if payment is made in time, there is not likely to be any future issues.