The new V-16 beacon, in evidence: pedestrian accidents and mortality are increasing on Spanish roads

The number of deaths from being run over on Spanish roads during Easter has been the highest in the last ten years, despite the entry into force of the mandatory V-16 luminous signaling system. In fact, the obligation to acquire this luminous warning system for emergencies or breakdowns connected to the DGT, which shows the location of cars with incidents in real time, was based on a supposed improvement in safety for vehicle occupants in these situations, but the first major travel campaign of the year, coinciding with the Easter holidays, has demonstrated the ineffectiveness of this system in combating being run over and associated mortality.From AUGC (Unified Association of the Civil Guard), the majority association of agents of la Benemérita, they point directly to the ineffectiveness of these devices and state that "false expectations" had been created around the implementation of the luminous and geolocated V-16 signal. Carlos Cantero, head of the traffic area of this association of civil guards, assures that the death data reveal that this system has proven to be "ineffective" in reducing the mortality figures due to being run over. It is still relevant that this luminous warning system was patented by two former Civil Guard officers and that a business of more than 1,200 million euros was generated. For this reason, Facua denounced the DGT for promoting a massive fraud with the obligation of this device. To conclude, the head of traffic of the AUGC denounces that the DGT “has not listened to the opinion of the agents who are on the street” and that “prevention must be improved” to reduce the unacceptable increase in mortality associated with the new V-16 device.

The first months of use of the new system have been associated with a string of controversies and blunders, such as lights approved with autonomies of less than 30 minutes, coverage and connectivity gaps of the beacons in rural areas or the scarce visibility of the lighting system during the central hours of the day, among others.A controversial implementation that has ended up in court

At this point, it is worth remembering that foreign vehicles (Moroccan, Portuguese, Andorran, French, Belgian, or from any other country) circulating on the Spanish road network are exempt from the obligation to use the new V-16 light signal and can continue to use conventional warning triangles without committing any infraction or being fined in the event of an incident.This comparative disadvantage has sparked much criticism among driver associations and law firms like Pyramid Consulting, experts in traffic fines. The Madrid-based law firm assures that the mandatory use of the V-16 system has technical defects, as it has not been notified to the European Commission within the stipulated timeframe and manner, as established by European directive 2015/1535. Taking advantage of this legal loophole and also the statements by Minister Grande-Marlaska assuring that “a persecution of drivers” would not occur for verifying the use of the V-16 beacon, the lawyers have filed a lawsuit and an administrative contentious appeal before the Court of First Instance of Madrid.