The General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) is legally studying the possibility of eliminating this summer the obligation to get out of the passenger compartment to place the reflective warning triangles on highways and highways. This was stated today by the head of the organization, Pere Navarro, Navarro, during his participation in a road safety event organized by the Mapfre Foundation.
The objective of the regulatory change is to prevent people being run over by people who get out of the car to put up said sign that warns of the presence of a vehicle stopped on the road due to some incident (for example, a breakdown or an accident). As an alternative to notify other drivers, the V16 light beacon can be used, which will be mandatory as of January 1, 2026.
At the beginning of last April, the head of Traffic, Pere Navarro, already announced that he wanted to modify this section included in the General Vehicle Regulations. This could finally happen in the next few days. This has been indicated by the Europa Press news agency, citing DGT sources.
Although it is an element that seeks to improve road safety, sometimes it can have the opposite effect, because it forces the driver to leave the car to go and place it at the required distance: on two-way roads, it is necessary to put one in front and one behind, at least 50 meters away and in such a way that they are visible to 100 meters; On highways and dual carriageways, only one is necessary, also 50 meters behind the vehicle, since on these roads the roads in both directions are separated by a median.
Despite the fact that the driver must wear a reflective vest to be seen when leaving the vehicle, sometimes this measure is not enough and ends up having a fatal outcome, especially on fast roads with heavy traffic. According to data offered by Navarro, in 2022, a total of 42 people were victims of road accidents for getting out of the vehicle.
The director of the DGT has recalled that in the United Kingdom and in Luxembourg it is already exempt from getting out of the car to place triangles on motorways and dual carriageways because they consider that it is more dangerous to get out than not to place anything. Navarro considers that the most appropriate option is to leave the vehicle through the passenger seat, get to a safe place and call the emergency services for help; this way you avoid walking on the shoulder.
Since July 1, 2021 it is also legal to use the V16 lighting devices instead of the conventional triangles. These beacons, so small that they can be stored in the glove box of the car, are placed with a simple gesture: you just have to reach out of the window to place them on the roof of the vehicle. Its powerful light, visible 360º from a greater distance than the triangles, warns other drivers of danger and all without having to walk on the road.
In addition, another very interesting feature of this signal is that it is equipped with a geolocation function, which will allow all the necessary data to be sent directly 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.
