Jasmine Harman issues warning to Spanish holidaymakers as she’s pulled over by police: ‘I was not aware’
TV presenter Jasmine Harman has warned drivers about an unexpected Spanish driving law after being fined €100 (£83) for touching her car’s screen whilst using Apple CarPlay.
The A Place in the Sun host, who recently relocated to Spain from the UK, was pulled over by police for interacting with her vehicle’s touchscreen display.
The 49-year-old Channel 4 presenter shared her experience with her 219,000 Instagram followers to alert others about the strict regulations that differ from UK rules.
In a video shared on Instagram, Harman explained: “Many of you may not be aware – I was not aware – that if you’re driving in your car, you cannot touch your screen even if you are using CarPlay.”
“I thought that was what CarPlay was for, so that you could control your incoming phone calls, maps, listening, and whatever else from the screen,” she added.
The presenter expressed her surprise that touching the screen was prohibited, despite CarPlay being designed to avoid handling mobile phones.
Spanish law permits the use of Apple CarPlay while driving, but only through voice-activated features, with manual screen interaction being prohibited.
Police informed Harman that drivers should use steering wheel controls instead of touching the screen, as noted in her social media post.
This differs from UK regulations, where drivers are allowed to use in-car touchscreens, though they must maintain proper control of their vehicle.
The UK Government warns that drivers could face penalties if their driving standards fall below acceptable levels while using these systems.
Social media users raised questions about how the law affects other car functions, with one asking: “So in that case, what do you do in a Tesla or most other new cars now in the UK when all the controls are touch screen?”
Another follower questioned: “So, we shouldn’t operate any other control system in our cars such as AC, fan speed adjustment, lights, radio, demister, fog lights, etc?”
“How does this work when sometimes the car’s main functions are on the screen? Doesn’t make any sense,” a third quipped.
Harman concluded her post by saying “Every day is a school day,” adding that the lesson was learned “the €100 hard way!”
In Spain, drivers can face fines of several hundred euros for using handheld devices or wearing headphones while driving.
Harman relocated to Spain in 2023, and last year penned a lengthy post one year on from their big move and said: “Today marks one year since we started our new life in Spain.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Molly-Mae Hague suffers blow as she’s thrown from horse during filming for Amazon seriesBridget Jones star Leo Woodall calls for ‘normalisation’ amid new film age gap rowChappell Roan hits back after sparking backlash from record exec over Grammys ‘living wage’ speech
“We’d thought long and hard about the move and it was definitely the right decision for our family work/life balance, but it is fair to say that there were many challenges that I wasn’t expecting initially, and whilst the children settled in fairly quickly, it took me a while to really begin to feel at home here! But we did it!”
“Happy 1 year in Spain to us! It’s been the most marvellous year, and now we have a brand new adventure on the horizon! (Hubby is here in Spain too of course, but typically he was working when we took these photos!)” (sic)