You've known for a long time that emergency triangles are on their last legs . You've also known that they will be replaced by V16 lights , those beacons that have been legally usable on our roads since last summer. What you may not know is how the idea came to us to devise a device that would allow drivers to avoid having to get out of their vehicles when reporting an incident. Like all stories about the seed of an idea, this is a long story, full of twists, turns, anecdotes, and sleepless nights. Today we've decided to shed some light on the birth of Help Flash, how V16 lights were created in Galicia, and how, surprisingly, we're a Spanish invention, but we've decided not to put a stop to it.
An idea that led to another idea
It often happens that the seed of great inventions is born from an attempt to solve a problem other than the one ultimately solved. Something similar happened with the birth of Help Flash. Jorge Torre, creator of the V16 beacons, was inspired by unmarked police cars. In case of emergency, officers had to place a light on the roof of the vehicle to identify them as a law enforcement agency in action. However, this light was quite imperfect. One of its main flaws was that it had to be connected to the car's cigarette lighter, which meant a coiled cable danced through the driver's hands and the co-pilot, in an extreme juggling act, had to keep the plug from coming out while communicating with other officers. Are you imagining a scene from Police Academy ? Maybe it wasn't that big a deal, but it was something that definitely had to be solved. Another major problem with that emergency light was that it activated automatically and immediately upon being plugged into the cigarette lighter, which, if accidentally switched on, could dazzle the vehicle's occupants and leave them, as they say, like a rabbit on the high beams. Or, in other words, with reduced visibility for five minutes. Detecting these problems helped Jorge Torre, who always had a clear vocation as an inventor, devise a system that would allow police to provide more convenient and faster signaling. And then came the question that finally revolutionized everything: what if all cars could carry a similar light in case of emergency? It was the late 1990s, warning triangles had become mandatory, and accidents caused by having to get out of the vehicle and walk 50 meters to place them on the road had become an alarming reality.What could replace the emergency triangles?
We all know from our own experience or have suffered just by imagining the situation: correctly placing emergency triangles has never been an easy task . Especially doing it on highways, at intersections, tunnels, bridges, roundabouts, or if the driver has mobility problems. Added to the ordeal of having a breakdown or accident and being stuck in the middle of the road is the anxiety of having to get out of the vehicle and risk being run over. That's how Jorge Torre came up with the idea of designing a warning beacon similar to those used on law enforcement vehicles. To create it, it would be necessary to modify the flashing sequence and color, eliminate the cable and replace it with a commercial battery recharging system, devise a system for attaching it to the sheet metal that would withstand the elements, and design a device that was intuitive, easy to use, autonomous, compact, and small enough to fit in the glove compartment of a car —or even on a motorcycle!Development of the V16 lights: what characteristics did they have to meet?
Obviously, an invention that has changed traffic regulations and improved road safety isn't designed in a single day. "The truth is, I spent several years developing a viable solution ," explains its creator, "combining and adapting existing solutions, researching LED solutions that were appearing on the market and other electronic solutions to get the most out of all the existing technologies through a simple battery." Let's see what conclusions Torre drew about the characteristics that a new signaling device should meet.- Intended for ordinary drivers, the beacon had to be easy to use so that anyone without specific knowledge or with mobility limitations could intuitively activate it in a critical situation, such as being stopped on a public road, which also brings with it an almost inevitable level of anxiety.
- Automatic contact activation. Jorge Torre was aware that "the automation solution must necessarily involve magnetic forces in constant but intense balance." Thus, the incorporation of a switch was ruled out, and the choice was made for automatic activation upon contact with a metal surface. The ideal location for it? The roof of the car, since in addition to preventing the driver from having to get out of the vehicle and remove their seatbelt, it ensured good visibility as it was the highest point where it could be mounted. Torre's research into magnetic technology led him to develop the world's first fully automatic magnetic induction actuator , the first version of which was registered in Spain in 2005, but which today offers new and evolved formats in the form of complex magnetic connectivity devices with multiple technological applications.
- Autonomy and recognizable brightness. Jorge Torre was also clear that the device he designed should emit a light that was perceptible from a great distance, recognizable, and that would not depend on the vehicle's condition to ensure automatic activation. In parallel with the research into the new beacon, LED technology, so prevalent today but then only accessible through closed technological channels, was also evolving.
Evolution of V16 lights: from the first prototypes to the final device
Getting to the Help Flash devices we all know today was a long road that required arduous technological research and, as with all inventions, numerous tests and trials.- Years 1998-2001. The initial functional test prototype was launched in 1998, and in 2001, the prototype for testing luminous output, climate control, and improved magnetic induction was launched. Although these were highly innovative products, they had to be subjected to a current load far exceeding their capacity and voltages far exceeding those indicated by the manufacturer, but in such short cycles that they practically reached the melting point before shutting down with each cycle. In 2001, Jorge Torre explained the progress of the first prototypes as follows: "The result of my research was that, with a conventional LED light source, using only the energy of a 9-volt battery, I was able to emit the equivalent of the light output of a conventional automobile's blinker."
- 2009. The first prototypes of sensors and luminaires were developed using recycled parts and components with the help of the Galician Automotive Technology Center (CTAG). The first pre-series of the first Help Flash emergency pre-signaling lamp was a somewhat crude item, but small enough to fit in a glove compartment. As Torre explains: "The LED manufacturer couldn't believe the light intensity we were able to extract from those small luminous capsules." In 2009, after several years of research, the world's first fully automatic beacon was launched. It was capable of operating with a single-position commercial battery that provided enough power to shine without dazzling, and was also capable of being activated upon contact with a ferrous metal surface. The flash was short, but it featured what was the first industrially produced LED array designed for this purpose. Several hundred units of this model were produced using a completely manual assembly process and were used to test the harsh conditions of use, storage, and varying temperatures and humidity.
- 2013. A revolutionary innovation was introduced that combined autocollimating amber LEDs with wide-dispersion-range white LEDs. Thus was born the first directional emergency beacon, equipped with a hemispherical auxiliary luminaire with white light, of which several hundred units were also installed for further testing. This beacon also introduced for the first time the characteristic triple sequential flash signal, Help Flash (which in Morse code is the letter s, representing danger ), which proved to be a complete success due to its efficiency and visual perception. Furthermore, this would distinguish it from all other types of signaling that existed until then, thus avoiding confusion.
- Toward a final device. After being presented in various settings and tested under all kinds of conditions by various stakeholders, especially victims' associations, the final design of the distinctive beacon we know today as Help Flash was achieved. This final design included the new ignition technology, capable of automatically activating in two different ways to adapt to ferrous and non-ferrous surfaces by rotating its cap, thus minimizing the risk of accidental activation. At the same time, it introduced the concept of a dual-function parabolic reflector to the market for the first time, an innovation that has now been emulated by multiple signaling devices based on the Help Flash philosophy.
- 2016-2019: First industrial productions and homologation . The first industrial production Help Flash for consumers was launched in October 2016, selling more than 20,000 units. This enormous success among drivers and victims' associations caught the attention of the Spanish government and eventually led to its official regulation in Spain in July 2018 as the V16 signal . It was then that the technical conditions for its homologation began to be defined, which took place in January 2019 under one of the most comprehensive certifiers in the world, ApPlus Idiada. Such was the success of the Help Flash that the brand became the model for all vehicles in its class. Its slogan, #UnaLuzParaSalvarVidas (#ALightToSaveLives ), is now a hallmark of the company.
- New models. The brand continued to explore new lines of innovation in road safety, leading to a second, more advanced version of the Help Flash, equipped with automatic telecommunication, a world-first design approved and patented in 2019. The new beacon automatically connected to the user's phone, contacted their insurance company, and provided the driver with all necessary services, including calling the 112 emergency service if necessary. This new geolocation device ultimately paved the way for Spanish road regulations: from 2026, all vehicles circulating in our country must have a beacon of this type, capable of communicating independently with the Directorate General of Traffic.
