DGT contemplating scrapping obligation to use triangles on motorways and dual carriageways in Spain

The obligation to use triangles on motorways and dual carriageways in Spain could be eliminated by the DGT due to an increase in accidents with drivers being run over.

The Directorate General of Traffic (DGT) is said to be contemplating eliminating the obligation to place the emergency triangles in the event of a vehicle breaking down in the middle of a motorway or dual carriageway. This move is the result of a marked increase in the number of accidents involving drivers being knocked down while placing the triangles.

Pere Navarro, the director of the DGT, stated as much during a press briefing on Tuesday, April 4. He explained: “Last year there were 16 deaths on motorways and dual carriageways of people who had got out of their vehicle”. The DGT director added that one in every 10 road deaths was caused by somebody being hit by a car.

Currently, when a vehicle suffers a road accident, it is compulsory for the driver to signal it to other road users, either with the emergency triangles or with the V-16 emergency light, which is placed on the roof of the car and will eventually replace the triangles.

However, this new regulation will not be compulsory until January 2026, so in the meantime, both forms of signalling will coexist. There will still be drivers who opt for the triangles and have to get out of their car to place it, running the risk of being knocked down.

Therefore, in view of this danger, the DGT is ‘assessing’ how to eliminate the obligation of signalling on motorways and dual carriageways. This is something that other countries have already put into practice, and as DGT sources confirmed to Europa Press, Pere Navarro is studying how to do it at a regulatory level, as reported by 20minutos.es.

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