Download the app of the General Directorate of Traffic on our mobile phones it is not mandatory, but it is undoubtedly an excellent idea. There are many reasons why it is very convenient to have this app on hand, especially to resolve doubts and make useful queries. For example, know how many points I have on my driving license From the phone.
These are the kinds of doubts that tend to be on the minds of drivers since, back in 2006, the DGT points card. Its implementation was born from the need to reduce accidents and increase safety levels on Spanish roads.
In recent years, the points card has proven to be an effective initiative to change the perception of driving, not as a right, but as a responsibility. Try to modify the behavior of offending drivers and raise their sensitivity about the serious human, economic and social consequences derived from traffic accidents.
This is how the points card works
When the DGT points license was launched, each driver was associated with an initial pool of points linked to their driving license. As a general rule, The initial balance of any driver is 12 points, although this figure is reduced to only 8 points in the case of new drivers and drivers who have recovered their license after it was withdrawn for some reason.
This balance is not immovable, since it can increase or decrease depending on our behavior behind the wheel. Broadly speaking we can say that:
- May get more points by being good drivers or taking safety courses.
- Instead, committing violations deducts points. The more serious the violation, the greater the loss of points (2, 3, 4 or 6 points can be lost per violation).
When a driver's points balance reaches zero, the registration process begins automatically. Withdrawal of the driving license. Of course, before reaching that extreme situation there is the possibility of recovering the lost points. It is the typical case of the driver who, due to a serious infraction, loses 6 of his 12 points and agrees to take an awareness course to recover some points.
The most common reasons for losing points are speeding violations, followed by not wearing a seat belt, using a mobile phone while driving or driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
Add and subtract points
Although we have said that the initial balance of points for any driver is 12, The points system rewards good drivers with “bonus points” up to a maximum of 15 points. These extra points are accumulated in two sections:
- +2 points if in a period of 3 years no infractions are committed punishable by loss of points.
- + 1 point if, after achieving the previous milestone, a new 3-year cycle is completed without serious violations.
In the case of new drivers, whose initial balance of points is 8, the "award" is 4 extra points if in the first two years they have not committed infractions that lead to the loss of points. That is, in two years they obtain a balance of 12 points. From there, they are governed by the normal rules of the points system, explained above.
Important: driving with a license without points is a bad idea. By doing so, ignoring the Traffic notification with the resolution of loss of validity of the driving license, a criminal offense is incurred punishable by prison sentences of 3 to 6 months.
How to recover points
There are two situations in which a driver may need to recover license points. For each of them there is a different path:
- When there is still balance. For example, if due to one or more infractions we have lost points but without exhausting all the credit. In that case we can recover the balance of 12 points accumulated over two years without new violations, or take a point recovery course (paying for it out of pocket).
- When there is no more balance. That is, when they have withdrawn our permit. The process is longer: you have to wait for the disqualification period to expire (which can range between 3 and 12 months), attend a road awareness and re-education course, obtain a psychophysical aptitude report and pass a theoretical exam on the course taken. After this process, the permit will be recovered with a balance of 8 points.
Check your points balance
But let's see how to find the answer to the question of how to know how many points I have on my driving license from my mobile. There are several ways to do it, but the simplest and fastest is make the query through the My DGT application. Just access the app. These are the download links:
On the initial screen we can choose between different authentication methods:
- Cl@ve system.
- Electronic ID.
- Personal details
This last option is open to all users (since not everyone is registered with @Clave or has an eDNI). It is the one we must select. First we are shown a screen where you have to fill in a series of data: DNI number, type of driving license, date of birth, as well as the date of first issuance of the driving license.
Once the form is filled out, you must click on the button «Get PIN», which will be sent to our phone number. Finally, through the PIN, we access the MiDGT query screen again. There it will appear our name next to a circle showing the updated points balance.
As you can see, it is not too complicated to perform this query. It doesn't hurt to check our points balance from time to time to have complete peace of mind. Sometimes, we are sanctioned for infractions that we are unaware of because we do not receive the notification at our home.