Legal definition
A motorway excludes access from adjoining properties and is reserved for automobiles. A dual carriageway has limited adjoining property access. Both have no at-grade crossings and separate carriageways for each direction, with the separation exceptions specified in their definitions.
RDL 6/2015, Annex I, points 66 y 67 (translation)Definition
Motorway vs dual carriageway in Spanish law concerns property access: an autopista excludes access from adjoining properties and is reserved for automobiles, while an autovía limits that access.
Shared characteristics
Both are roads specifically designed, built and signposted as such. Each direction has a separate carriageway and neither has at-grade crossings with other routes.
Key facts
- Autopista: no access from adjoining properties.
- Autovía: limited access from adjoining properties.
- Both have no at-grade crossings.
Practice real questions on this topic
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In the DGT exam
- A taxi driver travels on a motorway without a medical-exemption certificate. Must they wear their seatbelt?
- When driving a car normally on a motorway, may you use an opening in the central reservation to reverse your direction of travel?
- A car travels on a motorway with no justified reason to reduce speed. Below which general threshold is speed considered abnormally low?