The DGT beacon smells burnt.

1. In one month, on January 1st, 2026, we will say "have a good time" to the triangles that during twenty-six years We've used them to warn other drivers that our car has broken down and we've had to stop in an unusual place. Luckily, these drop-down triangles will have expired for most drivers before we've even had a chance to use them. But since there have been hundreds of people hit by cars while trying to plant the damn triangle fifty meters from their vehicle, and since time marches on and technology advances at an incredible pace, from now on the Spanish Directorate General of Traffic (DGT) will require us to carry a new gadget in our glove compartment. It's a light beacon that, in case of emergency, is placed on the car and flashes to signal our situation. The unique feature is that this approved V16 beacon connects directly to the DGT; this way, they'll know where you've stopped or where the incident or accident occurred. But this device doesn't put you in contact with emergency services (112) or make any kind of distress call. And this is perhaps where the inconsistencies begin.

2. Pere Navarro, the Director General of Traffic whenever a Socialist is in power, recently attended a conference in Extremadura on mobility and sustainability and made it perfectly clear: "Some people think that installing the V16 warning light is the end of it. You still have to call your insurance company for a tow truck, and we're wrong." Yes, we're not wrong, because if you don't have this new device with you, you get an immediate fine. If you don't have batteries that guarantee the beacon will emit light for half an hour, the penalty is even higher. And in no case are they doing any of this for revenue purposes. It's for our own good, because this will allow us to signal our vehicle without having to get out. We'll just need to roll down the window, stick our arm out, and put the siren on top, like we saw them do in Starsky and Hutch. Then again, the law does require you to get out so that, if someone crashes into you, you don't get hurt. If, as Pere Navarro says, "this is a step forward that positions us as European leaders in road safety," why isn't the use of the warning triangle mandatory in France, Italy, or Germany? If 25 people die each year in Spain because of using the triangle—according to published figures—I'm surprised that the same isn't true in other European Union countries. Whatever it takes to save lives, of course. And it's always good to be a pioneer in something, even if it's with this flashing technology that must be visible from at least a kilometer away.

3. Now then. When we all had the warning triangle, then the reflective jacket. When we had both, out with the triangle and in with the beacon. Since we were warned five years ago that the beacon was coming, companies have been manufacturing all sorts of models and prices. In that time, we bought them and gave them to loved ones (last Christmas I wrapped a ton of beacons for the family), and now that we were equipped, it turns out that all those devices are useless and we must only use the models the DGT (Spanish Directorate General of Traffic) wants. It's not enough to flash a light; now they have to connect us to them through the ethereal waves of the Holy Spirit. In a country where commissions rhyme with corruption, the whole thing smells fishy. Will we ever find out who, with connections, is profiting from this whole operation on a massive scale? How many cars are on the road in Spain? More than 30 million. At 45 euros per beacon, the multiplication is beautiful. It covers the costs.