Making roads safer is a goal we've been working toward for years, through new regulations, changing habits, and various initiatives. Remember traveling without a seatbelt in your car? It seems unthinkable today—and so does doing so while listening to those cassette tapes that sounded like the underworld—but that's how it was, and that's how we did it on every trip or vacation.
Fortunately, all that is a thing of the past. And this time, it seems it's the turn of the warning triangles, which will soon also be a thing of the past, replaced by connected V16 Help Flash lights.
We'll tell you everything you need to know about the new regulations and the first connected beacon on the market: Help Flash IoT Connected by Vodafone.
Approval, homologation, manufacturing and marketing of the connected V16 light
On December 10, the General Directorate of Traffic published in the Official State Gazette the resolution defining the protocol and format for sending data from the V16 signal to the National Access Point. This is the first step for manufacturers to understand the technical connection requirements, which Help Flash IoT already meets. On December 22, 2021, the DGT issued a statement indicating that it would publish in January 2022 the certification process for V16 lights that meet the luminosity and connectivity requirements. Starting in February, manufacturers will be able to contact the technical services responsible for certification to submit their prototypes to the defined tests and verify that they meet the necessary requirements. At this point, our lights will undergo this process. But when will you be able to start using them on your trips? From the moment they're on the market, they can replace emergency triangles, and starting January 1, 2026, the connected V16 light will become mandatory for signaling any roadside incidents.What must connected beacon lights comply with?
Connected V16 lights are a clear commitment to reducing road accidents by connecting people, roads, and machinery. They mean greater safety for the person involved in an accident and for other drivers, and less waiting time in the event of a roadside incident. All this is intended to provide additional safety during travel and reduce accidents resulting from road breakdowns and accidents. But what characteristics must they have to comply with the regulations and be approved?- Send the activation signal 100 seconds after the device is physically turned on.
- Maintain a message sending frequency of every 100 seconds.
- Provide 5-meter accuracy in device positioning.
- Use licensed band cellular technology to avoid service interference.
- A private and secure communications environment, meaning that the information transmitted will only be the vehicle's position on the map, and it will always be anonymous.
- Use of non-removable SIM card to prevent tampering.
- Automatic and unattended provisioning to avoid intermediate activation procedures that could interfere in the event of an accident or breakdown.
- Communications service contract with the operator included, prepaid, for twelve years.
