Riding a Motorbike Into Spain? Gloves, Closed Shoes and a Reflective Vest Became Compulsory on 1 October

Anyone who rides a motorbike or moped from Portugal into Spain now needs gloves on the open road, closed shoes on every road and a high-visibility vest in the luggage. The rules are part of a wide revision of Spain's Reglamento General de Circulación (General Traffic Regulations), made by Real Decreto 518/2026 and in force since Thursday, 1 October. Spanish traffic rules apply to everyone on Spanish roads, so they cover Portuguese residents crossing the border as well as Spaniards.

The decree was approved on 24 June and published in the Boletín Oficial del Estado (Spain's official gazette) on 26 June.

What riders must wear

The rewritten Article 118 applies to riders and passengers of motorcycles, including those with sidecars, three-wheelers, quadricycles, mopeds and quads. They must wear:

• a helmet approved under UN regulation R22 and properly fastened, on every road;
• protective gloves on interurban roads, meaning roads outside towns;
• closed footwear covering the whole foot, on every road, so sandals and flip-flops are out even in town.

Spain's Interior Ministry may later set technical standards for the gloves. Until it does, the decree says gloves of the kind riders already use will do. Moped riders who have a helmet that is certified but not approved under R22 can keep using it for one more year, until 1 October 2027. Vehicles with a protective structure and seatbelts recorded in their papers are exempt from the helmet, glove and footwear rules, and their occupants must wear the belt instead.

The vest, and the hard shoulder

Motorcycles must now carry a high-visibility reflective vest as part of their compulsory kit, as cars already do. Riders, like car, bus and lorry drivers, must wear it whenever they get off and stand on the carriageway or hard shoulder of an interurban road, for example after a breakdown. People who ride motorcycles, mopeds, bicycles or e-scooters for work must wear one at all times.

Motorcyclists may also use the hard shoulder in traffic jams, but only on stretches marked for it with signs and road markings, only when traffic in the lanes has stopped, in single file and at no more than 30 km/h. They must leave the shoulder if needed to avoid endangering other vehicles that are required to use it.

Changes for drivers too

• Overtaking cyclists outside towns: drivers must slow to at least 20 km/h below the speed limit before and throughout the manoeuvre and leave at least 1.5 metres of space. On roads with more than one lane in each direction, they must move fully into the next lane.
• Emergency corridor: when traffic on a motorway slows to walking pace or stops, vehicles must part to leave a gap for emergency services. On two-lane carriageways the gap goes between the two lanes; with three or more lanes it goes between the leftmost lane and the one beside it.
• Cyclists in towns: drivers must keep at least 5 metres behind a bicycle ahead of them.

E-scooters

For the first time the regulation sets a minimum age of 15 to ride an e-scooter. Its preamble says it extends compulsory helmets to e-scooter riders. Scooters are barred from pavements, motorways and interurban roads, except on cycle lanes and routes closed to motor traffic. Their lights must always be on, a rule that applies in daylight from 1 October 2027.

Portugal is debating similar rules at home. Parliament has backed compulsory helmets for e-scooter and e-bike riders at first reading, although that bill still faces a committee stage and a final vote.