January 1, 2026.
That is the key date. The day from which It will be mandatory to use a connected V-16 light to signal a breakdown on the road. Not only that, that day we will say goodbye to emergency triangles. Because those who use them will be exposed to a fine.
The decision, confirmed in 2021, continues to raise controversy with just a few months left to fully implement it. Until now, the V-16 light could replace emergency triangles, which were no longer mandatory on highways and expressways. However, it will be from January 1 of next year when not only will they not be mandatory, they will also be prohibited.
How did we get here and why?
The new regulations
The change is very simple. The emergency triangles that have accompanied us until now will be prohibited from January 1, 2026. The Royal Decree 159/2021published on March 17, 2021, modified annex XI of the General Vehicle Regulations. It specifies all the changes that must be taken into account when having an approved light and how to act with it.
From then on, every driver must have a V-16 signal connected which, in general terms, must comply with the following requirements:
- Radiate light 360 degrees
- Maintain irradiation intensity for at least 30 minutes
- Protection degree IP54 at least
- Guaranteed operation between -10ºC and 50ºC
- Powered by cell or battery that must guarantee its operation for a minimum of 18 months
- Guaranteed connectivity for at least 12 years, to notify the DGT when the device is activated.
If you have any doubts about whether or not the purchased device is approved by the DGT, the entity has a list in which all devices are included who have passed the homologation exam.
The real change, as we say, is that the DGT makes the use of this system mandatory and, in addition, bans emergency triangles. He assures that placing triangles on the road increases the risk of being run over and, therefore, it is better to use a light that should be placed on the roof of the vehicle to warn other drivers.
In the case of a motorcycle, it must have an adapter to position it on the handlebars. Yes indeed, the DGT makes it clear that the motorcyclist is not obliged to have this device.
However, those who use the triangles face a fine of 80 euros (a minor offense for “not properly signaling the obstacle created on the road in the event of an accident or vehicle breakdown”, as stated in article 130 of the General Traffic Regulations) and, in addition, those who do not have a connected and approved V-16 light (those not connected are valid until December 31, 2025 but not from January 1, 2025). next year) can also be fined 80 euros as is the case until now with triangles.
How did you get here?
This is one of the questions that has raised controversy. And Spain is the only country in Europe in which these V-16 lights will be mandatory. What happens if we have to travel outside our borders? If the country has a full agreement with Spain, V-16 light is perfectly valid but if it does not have it, we will have to count on the triangles to be able to indicate an emergency. In any case, Spain being the only country where it is mandatory, it is recommended to carry emergency triangles if you leave our borders.
The DGT assures that, however, the measure was necessary because installing the triangles on the road means too much risk to the passengers of a disabled vehicle.
According to the data provided with the presentation of this V-16 beacon, between 2018 and 2021 they died every year between 18 and 22 people run over on the road after getting out of a vehicle and In 2022 there are 58 deaths. Of course, the agency does not specify whether these attacks were caused by the installation of the triangles or for any other reason.
In fact, the DGT has recently changed the regulations. From 2023 It is mandatory to stay off the road in a place away from traffic whenever possible. However, if there is no space, passengers in a disabled vehicle no longer have to wait outside the vehicle; it is now mandatory to sit inside with the seat belt on. The V-16 light, they say, allows you to signal the vehicle without having to get out of it, just by putting your hand out of the window and placing it on the roof.
When activated, the beacon begins to emit a light signal that must be seen from a kilometer away. It automatically contacts the DGT 3.0 platform which will send the information to the means closest to the incident, such as the light panels, to notify the rest of the drivers.
Furthermore, the signal itself will broadcast information to connected vehicles to circulate in the vicinity, alerting them that they will find a broken down vehicle on the road. It’s the call signal V-27 that will appear on the car’s instrument panel and is made up of a red triangle with an exclamation mark inside and three curved lines on the outside to mark connectivity.
Of course, the beacon does not connect directly to emergency services. This task is left to the drivers, who have to call to convey their situation and what happened. Also your insurance if it is necessary for the car to be towed by a tow truck.
The money
We have already seen the arguments of the DGT but… how much is it going to cost us in our pockets? Right now, the connected and approved V-16 lights are selling for around 50 euros. This money includes data service for a minimum of 12 years.
Of course, we must keep in mind that they also require minimal maintenance. The agency recommends changing the battery or fully charging the battery every year. A problem that, obviously, emergency triangles do not have.
According to the latest data collected by the DGT, There are 25.36 million passenger cars circulating in Spain2.47 million trucks and 2.68 million vans. In total, there are at least 30 million potential vehicles that must have this light signal when driving. Obviously, it is not mandatory to buy one for each of them, but it is necessary to carry it with us, so if we have more than two cars we will have to remember to rotate it.
It is therefore difficult to get a concise idea of the money this business moves but, with rough numbers, the sale of connected V-16 beacons alone will move more than 1.5 billion euros, assuming an average cost for the customer of 50 euros. In some cases The figure rises to 1.7 billion euros.
In this figure we find, of course, the manufacturers and telecommunications companies to which the beacons must necessarily be tied in order to be approved first and valid before a traffic agent, later.
The manufacturer’s approval must be carried out by a technical laboratory authorized by the DGT. At this time, only the LCOE (Official Central Laboratory of Electrotechnics) or IDIADA (Institute of Applied Automobile Research). As for the manufacturers, at the moment the DGT lists 34 manufacturers that have approved at least one product.
This point is problematic. First, because in its first communications, the DGT did not mention that the V-16 lights should be connected. That change came later, in 2021, but in 2018 it began to be decided where the regulations were going to go. This led to V-16 beacons being sold that do not have the required connectivity and, therefore, those who spent the money on them now have a paperweight.
But also, if we go to the approval dates, we see that the company Netun Solutions SL was the first to approve a connected V-16 beacon. It received approval on December 22, 2022 to sell the model as valid from January 1, 2026. Help Flash which, since then, has become one of the outstanding models on the market.
Netun Solutions SL was founded by Jorge Costas and Jorge Torre, both retired former civil guards who entered the beacon business once they left the force. They pointed out in 2019 to The Confidential that, in fact, the invention of this light to warn of possible emergencies is patented by Jorge Torre. By then, they were already billing one million euros with the beacons. Then it was not yet known that they should be connected and, as we have seen, it would not be until 2022 when they would become the first company to receive the go-ahead to sell their connected V-16 lights, meeting all the requirements already demanded.
The article mentions that the idea was born to install a quick emergency light on the roof of the car, without fighting with the cables of the emergency lights that are mounted on the famous “secret” cars. It was 2013 and no one bought the idea. However, little by little they are moving and receiving support from associations such as RACE wave National Association of Amputees of Spain (Andade) who welcome the idea because the car can be signaled without getting out of it.
In 2018, the DGT accepts the idea and begins to allow its use. But it is in 2019 when the snowball turns into an avalanche. The DGT confirms that its use will be mandatory and that the emergency triangles will pass away. This is when they start billing over a million euros. Then will come the aforementioned change in the development of the regulations that requires connecting the lights with DGT 3.0. At the end of last year we learned that Neton Solutions will be in charge of equipping state vehicles with V-16 beacons.
The other major beneficiaries of the V-16 light are, indeed, telecommunications companies. The obligation for the V-16 light to have connectivity for at least 12 years puts these companies in an obvious business situation since manufacturers have to contract the service. And that service is transferred to the end customer when paying for the beacon.
The first to reach an agreement with Netun Solutions which, remember, approved the first V-16 beacon was Vodafone. Company that, in addition, was the one was awarded the contract to provide the DGT 3.0 servicea competition that it participated in as a joint venture with Pons Mobility, Kapsch TrafficCom and Inspide. Since then, other telecommunications companies such as Telephone either Masorange They have also joined in launching their own products.
Photo | shen liu and Help Flash
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