Operation exit of August 15: the worst hours to travel and the roads with the most traffic

The DGT does not require a new law for each Special Traffic Operation but acts through an administrative resolution by the Director General supported by the Traffic Law and an annual resolution of "special traffic regulation measures." The process combines a technical-planning phase (flow analysis and measure design), a formal approval phase (motivated resolution published in the BOE), and an operational phase (coordination with the Civil Guard, Autonomous Communities, and municipalities, citizen information, and monitoring). Legally, it is mainly based on the consolidated text of the Law on Traffic, Motor Vehicle Circulation, and Road Safety and on circulation and vehicle regulations. Within this general framework, specific campaigns (Easter, summer, Christmas, etc.) are programmed as "special operations."

Legal framework and competent body

The main legal basis is the consolidated text of the Law on Traffic, Motor Vehicle Circulation, and Road Safety, approved by Royal Legislative Decree 6/2015, available in the BOE (consolidated text of the Traffic Law). Articles 5, 12, and especially 18 assign to the Ministry of the Interior and the Central Traffic Headquarters competencies of:

• Regulation, ordering, and management of traffic on interurban roads and crossings.
• Authorization of sporting events on state roads.
• Road closures or access restrictions for certain vehicles for safety or traffic flow reasons.

These competencies are exercised "through the autonomous body Central Traffic Headquarters," and for surveillance, management, and assistance, the Civil Guard acts, "especially its Traffic Group," which specifically depends on said body, as stated in the law itself (see the excerpt reproduced in the query about Royal Legislative Decree 6/2015).

Annual resolution of special measures

The immediate support for Special Traffic Operations is the annual resolution of special measures. A recent example is the Resolution of January 14, 2026, from the Directorate General of Traffic, "establishing special traffic regulation measures during 2026" (special measures resolution 2026), with a subsequent error correction (error correction 2026).

This resolution explains the general scheme:

• It is issued "for reasons of road safety and traffic flow, in accordance with the dates when massive vehicle movements are expected."
• It expressly relies on articles 5, 12, and 18 of the Traffic Law (consolidated text), the General Traffic Regulations (Royal Decree 1428/2003), and the General Vehicle Regulations (Royal Decree 2822/1998), as well as the report from the Higher Council of Traffic and Road Safety.
• It acts "in agreement with the competent bodies of the Ministries of the Interior and Transport, Mobility, and Urban Agenda."

The Director General of Traffic "resolves" and establishes detailed circulation restrictions in annexes (calendars, sections, vehicle types, and exemptions), which serve as an umbrella for all specific Special Operations of the year.

Internal planning phase

Within this annual framework, the DGT develops, at a technical level, each specific operation (for example, an Easter operation):

• The Traffic Management Centers analyze travel forecasts and define critical periods, as the resolution itself states by assigning them the determination of the "degree of importance of travel flow."
• Measures are designed: additional restrictions for heavy vehicles or hazardous goods (in line with what is indicated in the resolution and regulations such as Royal Decree 97/2014 on the transport of hazardous goods), enabling additional lanes, prohibition of sporting events on certain dates, etc.
• Coordination is carried out with the Civil Guard Traffic Group (escorts, patrols, controls) and with the administrations owning the affected roads, as required by the Traffic Law when referring to sporting events and road closures.

Approval and publication act

Formal approval does not require the Council of Ministers: it materializes in a resolution by the Director General of Traffic, issued:

• "After a report" from the Higher Council of Traffic and Road Safety.
• In agreement with the competent bodies of the Interior and Transport Ministries.
• Motivated by safety and flow reasons.

The resolution is published in the BOE, as with the 2026 special measures (special measures 2026), which gives it general effectiveness on roads under state jurisdiction, without prejudice to the competencies assumed by autonomous communities and local entities as provided in the Traffic Law.

Execution, information, and monitoring

Once in force, execution is articulated through:

• The Traffic Civil Guard, which carries out surveillance, regulation devices, and roadside assistance according to the Traffic Law.
• The Management Centers, which monitor traffic in real time, adapt lanes and detours, and assess the need for additional measures.
• Citizen information (variable message panels, website, and telephone and informational channels), consistent with other DGT resolutions on traffic information.

After the campaign, the DGT can evaluate results (accident rates, travel times, compliance with restrictions) and, if necessary, adjust future annual resolutions of special measures, as shown by the modifications and corrections usually approved each year (modification of measures 2023).

The Directorate General of Traffic (DGT) is the body of the General State Administration specialized in managing circulation and road safety in most of the Spanish territory. Its competencies are defined in the basic traffic regulations and in the royal decrees organizing the Ministry of the Interior. In practical terms, the DGT regulates essential aspects of circulation, directs and coordinates traffic surveillance, imposes sanctions for infractions, manages vehicle and driver registries, and leads state road safety policies. The following details these competency blocks from a legal-administrative perspective, without citing specific provisions due to lack of access to legal texts in the consulted sources.

General framework of competencies

The basic regulations on traffic, motor vehicle circulation, and road safety assign to the State Administration, and within it to the DGT, the power to order and manage traffic on interurban roads and certain crossings, as well as to set general circulation conditions. Additionally, the Ministry of the Interior's structural royal decrees assign it the function of developing and executing government traffic and road safety policy, as well as directing the bodies and services responsible for these matters.

Regulation of circulation and traffic rules

In regulation matters, the DGT mainly exercises regulatory and executive competencies within the law's framework. These functions include:

• Development and application of basic traffic regulations through instructions, resolutions, and interpretative criteria directed at citizens, companies, and security forces.
• Setting technical and operational standards related to signage, safety devices, circulation of certain vehicles (hazardous goods, special transport, VTC, etc.), and temporary traffic limitations in special operations.
• Regulation of circulation restrictions for road safety, works, weather phenomena, or congestion, especially on the state road network.

Control, surveillance, and traffic management

The DGT is responsible for the general planning of traffic control and surveillance on roads under its jurisdiction. Its functions include:

• Direction and coordination of road surveillance services carried out by state security forces specialized in traffic.
• Management of traffic control centers, which monitor circulation via cameras, variable message panels, and intelligent transport systems, and adopt dynamic regulation measures (reversible lanes, detours, speed limits).
• Planning special operations (bridges, holidays, major events) through regulation devices, increased surveillance, and user information.

Sanctioning power and infraction regime

Traffic regulations assign the DGT significant sanctioning power at the state level. This includes:

• Instruction and resolution of sanctioning procedures for infractions detected by agents or automatic means (radars, traffic light control cameras, etc.) on roads under its jurisdiction.
• Management of the points system associated with the driving license, including deduction, recovery, and annotation of loss of validity due to point exhaustion.
• Processing administrative appeals against sanctions and managing the executive collection of fines, in coordination with other competent collection bodies.

Registries, authorizations, and administrative management

Another key aspect is administrative management linked to circulation:

• Management of the Vehicle Registry: registration, deregistration, ownership changes, annotation of encumbrances, and issuance of circulation permits.
• Management of the Driver Registry and driving permits: issuance, renewal, exchange of foreign permits, and annotation of relevant records and sanctions.
• Granting special circulation authorizations for exceptional transports, sporting events on roads, and other special cases.

Road safety, information, and institutional coordination

Finally, the DGT plays a leading role in the State's road safety policy:

• Development of road safety plans and strategies, with objectives to reduce accident rates and normative, educational, and control measures.
• Information and awareness campaigns on safe driving, alcohol and drugs, speed, seat belts, helmets, or distractions.
• Collection, processing, and analysis of data on traffic accidents and other indicators to support normative and management decisions.
• Coordination with autonomous communities and local entities, which retain their own competencies on urban roads and, in some territories, over all traffic matters.

Overall, the DGT concentrates the state function of ordering and controlling circulation and guaranteeing road safety, within a system also involving autonomous communities and municipalities with their own competencies.

In recent years, the communities with traffic competencies or their own road management structures that have deployed additional restrictions or their own devices during the August departure operation (or in operations closely linked to that period) are, clearly in the available sources, Catalonia, the Basque Country (Euskadi), and Navarra, to which are added reinforced local devices such as that of the Murcia City Council. The Directorate General of Traffic (DGT) explicitly acknowledges that these three communities set their own restrictions on heavy transport circulation during the August operation. Additionally, the Basque Government details specific summer operations of signage and management of critical road junctions, and some municipalities organize complementary local police deployments. There is no detailed information, in the consulted sources, about specific measures from other communities in the August departure operation between 2019 and 2023.

Catalonia, Basque Country, and Navarra: own restrictions on heavy vehicles

The most explicit data comes from the Demócrata piece August 2026 departure operation: dates and DGT restrictions. It recalls that the DGT's annual resolution limits the circulation of:

• Trucks over 7,500 kg MMA
• Vehicles transporting hazardous goods
• Special vehicles or those requiring complementary authorization

And, very importantly, it adds that "the affected schedules and roads change according to the autonomous community" and that Catalonia, the Basque Country, and Navarra apply their own restrictions. That is, during the August departure operation (and other summer special operations) these three communities:

• Publish their own calendars of time prohibitions and specific sections for heavy vehicles and hazardous goods.
• Can toughen or modulate the DGT's state limitations based on their road network and traffic patterns.

This same territorial differentiation scheme is also seen in other state summer devices recorded by Interior and the DGT, where "autonomous operations" are distinguished within the general plan, as noted in DGT and Interior notes on the 2024 summer device (DGT note and Interior statement).

Basque Government's own summer device

Beyond heavy vehicle restrictions, Euskadi details specific operations on its network during the summer campaign. In 2025, the Basque Government published the note Euskadi records traffic increase above expected at mid-point of Summer Departure-Return Special Operation, describing its own device for the departure and return operation:

• "Special signage operations" at very specific points (AP-1–N-622 in Etxebarri-Ibiña; N-622–A-1 in Vitoria-Gasteiz, etc.).
• By-pass and lane management at strategic junctions such as the Armiñón Junction during the return operation.
• A weekend contracted tow service on the Euskadi–Cantabria limit section of the A-8, active on peak days, to quickly remove broken down or accident vehicles.

This is clearly an "own" device: designed, executed, and communicated by the Basque Government's Traffic Directorate, complementing the DGT's general measures for the summer departure and return operation.

Navarra and Catalonia: special measures for heavy vehicles in extraordinary devices

Although not strictly linked to the August departure operation, there is a recent precedent showing the logic of Catalonia and Navarra acting in contexts of high summer mobility. The Demócrata report on the 2026 total eclipse, Map of traffic cuts in Spain for today's eclipse, details that Catalonia, Navarra, and the Basque Country "have established special measures for certain heavy vehicles" in their territory, within a device coordinated with the DGT.

The pattern is similar to the August departure operation: communities with traffic competence or advanced road management services adjust schedules, sections, and types of restricted vehicles to anticipate capacity and safety problems on their main corridors.

Local devices: the example of Murcia City Council

At the municipal level, specific reinforcements linked to the August departure operation have also been seen. In 2025, the Murcia City Council issued an official note, More than 200 Local Police officers will ensure safety and traffic flow during the August 1 departure operation, announcing:

• A deployment of 207 Local Police officers to regulate accesses and exits of the municipality coinciding with the special operation on August 1.
• Specific objective to ensure flow in the urban area and interurban network links, coordinated with DGT planning.

Although a municipal case, it illustrates how administrations other than the state DGT activate their own operations on the same days and hours of the departure operation.

Limits of available information

The consulted sources do not provide exhaustive lists, year by year (2019-2025), of all communities that have applied additional measures in the August departure operation. What is clearly documented is that:

• Catalonia, the Basque Country, and Navarra have their own restriction regimes for heavy transport during these dates.
• The Basque Government details a singular signage and junction management operation each summer.
• Some local corporations, like Murcia, organize specific reinforcements of surveillance and traffic regulation coinciding with the departure operation.

No further information is available in the consulted sources about similar measures in other autonomous communities during the August departure operation in recent years.