hi all , ive just come back from a spanish trip starting in girona and loading in benidorm , almeria , malaga , marbella and jaen . i parked for the weekend near murcia and had my trailer number plate nicked ( 12m rigid with a trailer with a jag on ) so i made a temp one with cardboard and marker pen , right size and right size letters ( took me ages ) i thought it would be ok as a temp to get me home . everything was good and i passed loads of guarda civil untill tuesday evening going up the a1 burgos to bilbao where i get pulled over by 2 traffic bikes , out came his book and fined me 90 euros for not displaying the correct number plate , but i got a 30 per cent discount and ended up paying 63 euros ( how come i got a discount , whats that all about ) and i got warned for doing 85 km , the limit for wagon and drags ( as he classed me ) is 80 km in spain news to me but i also got pulled into a control near rennes by the french ministry , i showed them the trailer and they said it was ok ( just as a temp ) to get me home …
Sorry to hear about you mishap with the nice police man,
but HE was right,It is still only 80kmh for wagon and drags,
in SPAIN; as for the fine give to the boss as it was the no
plate that got you stopped in the first place,
( If it was Irish you wouldn’t need a number plate on your trailer )
I use the A1 in Spain all the time and there has definitely been a massive increase in Guardia Civil activity, especially around Robregordo in the Somosierra - they pulled me the other week and my Tarjeta de Transporte (Spanish operators licence) was actually out of date by three months!! All I got was a denuncia (official notice of intent to prosecute) to hand to my boss and no fine. I was however driving a Spanish registered truck and do speak the lingo. All I can say is with the Guardia is just grovel, grovel, grovel and hope he had his oats last night!
I found that. The more you talk the more bored they get & usually leave you alone. They are a little like the Irish. If they give you a word they expect two back & as long as you understand that , the fines will drop dramatically. At the last knockings two of them got one Biro to share between them. That was of course after 30 Min’s haggling. 
I suppse the trick is,not to hate them as soon as you see them;They pick up on that right away.
Personally I have to say out of all the european police forces i have had the pleasure of meeting the Guardia Civil have always been the most helpful and least vindictive - compared to the French gendarmes these guys are gems!
harry:
I found that. The more you talk the more bored they get & usually leave you alone. They are a little like the Irish. If they give you a word they expect two back & as long as you understand that , the fines will drop dramatically. At the last knockings two of them got one Biro to share between them. That was of course after 30 Min’s haggling.
I suppse the trick is,not to hate them as soon as you see them;They pick up on that right away.
Your spot on there harry. Talk nicely to them … its worth hundreds
( NICELY BUT BORINGLY!! ) Otherwise you will be there all day…
here in spain if you pay your fine before the end of the day i think thats correct you got a 30% discount its to make you pay so they dont have to waste time and energy looking for you
Hombre:
Personally I have to say out of all the european police forces i have had the pleasure of meeting the Guardia Civil have always been the most helpful and least vindictive - compared to the French gendarmes these guys are gems!
Perhaps you don’t speak French as well as you speak Spanish Hombre 
, I have little experience of the Guardia Civil but have always found the gendarmes OK. Talking is good yes, but it helps to be in the language of the country.
Absolutely correct!
In fact I loathe the French so much it grieves me to even try to speak the language - sorry mate I realise you live there!
Since the Socialist government got elected in 2004, Spain has turned into a nasty bastion of Police control-freakery. All sorts of things which the Police used to treat as minor have now become serious and the Guardia Civil seem intent on ramping up truck drivers for every penny they can get out of them.
Hombre:
Absolutely correct!In fact I loathe the French so much it grieves me to even try to speak the language - sorry mate I realise you live there!
You may just have put your finger on your problem there then 
Spains not that bad really, no worse than any where else, it´s just the same old story… the less capable you are of explaining things in the local language the higher the fine is obviously as they cannot understand your pleas of mitigating circumstances.