V16 light signals , recommended and regulated by the DGT, were created with the aim of improving road safety, constituting a road signaling element that must be properly approved to guarantee its suitability.
Therefore , it is important to learn to distinguish whether a V16 warning light is approved or not and to understand the significance of such approval for our safety and that of other drivers in the event of an emergency.
Why homologation?
Approvals are technical standards, validated by specialized departments dependent on the Administration and accredited official laboratories , which establish the minimum, and sometimes, the maximum technical criteria that a product must meet in order to be present on the market safely for the user .
The approval of a product of any kind guarantees, not only the legal certainty inherent to the instrument itself, but also the technical safety of the equipment itself. The equipment must meet strict requirements that are duly verified by an accredited laboratory, which approves the product through official certification. All of this ensures that the product in question serves exactly the purpose for which it was designed and under the conditions under which it was tested.
To give a very simple example : if vehicle tires were not approved, each manufacturer could market models whose internal construction, that is, their ability to withstand certain stresses, would be assessed solely by the manufacturer himself based on strictly business criteria. Thus, if their manufacturing principle is to make tires very cheap or of low quality , and no one sets a measurable limit below which the tire would be unsafe, this could lead to a blowout and, consequently, a possible accident.
If we apply this scenario to the entire vehicle fleet, the situation would be truly catastrophic in terms of road safety. In the case of V16 signs, these must comply with minimum and maximum criteria limited by an official regulation that defines them, the General Vehicle Regulations in its Annex XI , in addition to an Instruction from the General Directorate of Traffic of December 2018 (*). (*) Royal Decree 2822/1998, of December 23, approving the General Vehicle Regulations. Annex XI, heading Signal V.16 (Danger pre-signaling device), section 4. (in force since August 1, 2018). Instruction 18/V-132, of December 21, 2018
How to distinguish an approved V16 sign
In the market, especially when an instrument is validated for general use, we can find multiple products that are not approved, manufactured under strictly commercial criteria .
Its use seriously compromises the safety of the user and other drivers , so before purchasing a V16 signal, we must ensure that it is properly approved. An approved V16 light signal must display its approval code in a visible location for the user and duly documented, if applicable.
This code must be legible and engraved on the product. This means it cannot deteriorate over time or through normal handling, nor can it have imperfections that affect its readability. These types of devices are marked in Spain using two numeric or alphanumeric codes , preceded by the initials of the laboratories that have authorized them after passing and approving the relevant technical tests.
These codes are: LCOE XXXXXXXXXXG1 , where the “x”s are the numbers corresponding to the approval date, followed by a serial number, issued by the Official Central Electrotechnical Laboratory. IDIADA PC XXXXXXXX , where the “x”s are the same numbers as in the previous case, issued by the Official Applus Accredited Laboratory IDIADA. In the case of Help Flash®, we can find the approval code not only on the product's tulip itself, but also on its corresponding box and in the user manual, because for us, road safety comes first.
You may be interested in reading: Seven dangers of purchasing an unapproved V16 sign
