The director of the DGT, Pere Navarro, already said it last April and repeated it a few days ago: Tráfico was working to eliminate the obligation to place warning triangles on motorways and dual carriageways. The reason is that it poses too high a risk to the physical integrity of the person who gets out of the vehicle to put them on. Well, there is already a date for the entry into force of the measure: July 1, 2023, coinciding with the start of the first major operation that came out of the summer.
This has been established by the agency with the publication today of an instruction in which drivers are exempted from placing the aforementioned alert elements when they have an incident -for example, a breakdown or accident- that forces them to stop their vehicle in the aforementioned fast lanes. It is important to note that it will continue to be mandatory to do so on conventional roads.
The measure will be without effect on January 1, 2026, the day on which all motorists must carry the V16 connected light signal in the vehicle, which will put an end to the danger warning triangles. This beacon is placed on the roof of the car simply by reaching out the window and can be seen at a greater distance in 360º. In addition, this device has a geolocation function, which will send all the necessary data to the DGT 3.0 platform in real time. Through this connection, other drivers will be able to receive the position of any vehicle that activates the V16 signal, as well as other types of information that ensure road safety.
The average number of pedestrians killed after being run over after getting out of the vehicle in the last five years has been 22 people. According to traffic reports, traveling on the shoulder, staying on it, trying to repair a breakdown or even placing and removing warning triangles significantly increases the risk of being run over. And the probability of surviving the impact of a speeding vehicle is almost non-existent.
Hence, taking into account that “the placement of hazard warning triangles is not feasible on highways and dual carriageways because they seriously compromise the safety of people, having to walk on the road, their placement is exempted and therefore It will not be a reason for complaint exclusively in these fast lanes ”, affirms Tráfico in a statement.
When the road incident takes place on a conventional road, it is mandatory to put them. The General Vehicle Regulations indicate that those with two directions must be placed one in front and one in the back, at least 50 meters away and in such a way that they are visible from 100 meters.
To do so, it is essential to put on the reflective vest before getting out of the vehicle, since this garment increases the visibility of the person so that other drivers can see them from afar. Although this measure increases security, it does not guarantee it one hundred percent. To avoid being run over, it is also necessary to walk on the safest part of the road.
