The implementation of the V-16 beacon connected to the cloudwhich will definitively replace the traditional emergency triangles on January 1, 2026 exclusively in Spain, is already generating citizen and legal resistance.
The association Policías por la Libertad (Police for Freedom) has issued a plea to challenge sanctions in the event of not having the new device, based on the lack of legal specification, the violation of fundamental rights and the unequal treatment of citizens.
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“We are faced with a blank penal norm, where it refers to a regulation to define the infraction and its sanction,” they argue in the legal text, to which has had access. La Voz de Ibiza.
The appeal document is not filed on a preventive basis. It can only be used once the penalty has been notified by the Dirección General de Tráfico (DGT), within the legal time limit for allegations.
According to Policías por la Libertad, any fined citizen can download the document and present it to demand the annulment of the sanctioning file, based on legal grounds.
The text criticizes the mandatory imposition of the V-16 geolocatable beacon as arbitrary. It states that the device transmits data in an automated manner, which “violates the right to privacy and the protection of personal data”.
The appeal underlines that “the activation of the beacon sends information directly and involuntarily”, without there being “prior information of the affected party” or any record of “the name and position of the person responsible and in charge of the processing of the data issued”.
Why does the DGT force the use of the V-16?
The Directorate General of Traffic has justified the measure on the grounds of safety: about twenty people a year are killed after getting out of the car to place the triangles.
The V-16 allows to signal danger by simply lowering the window and placing it on the roof of the vehicle. Its light, visible up to one kilometer and at 360 degrees, even in rain or fog, improves visibility compared to the classic system.
But the technological change is not only in the light: the V-16 transmits the vehicle’s location in real time to the DGT servers. This allows other drivers to be alerted via panels and apps. The information is sent automatically every 100 seconds until the device is deactivated.
“A system with data transmission without informed consent of the user is imposed, contrary to the provisions of the data protection legislation,” the association alleges.
Criticism for inequality and lack of access
Another focus of the appeal is the unequal access to the connected beacon. The device has an economic and technical cost that is not affordable for all citizens. In fact, according to a Coyote study, 80% of drivers have not yet acquired it, even though the deadline is approaching.
Another of the arguments presented in the appeal is the discrimination that the measure entails for certain groups. The document points out that foreign vehicles are not obliged to carry the beacon, while nationals are, which in their opinion violates Article 14 of the Spanish Constitution.
It also warns that the geolocatable device could stop working over time due to battery depletion, becoming a “death trap” if not replaced in time.
The appeal also questions the technical and legal legitimacy of the measure. It requests that the Ministry of the Interior incorporate into the sanctioning file the technical and scientific reports that justified the elaboration of Royal Decree 1030/2022, in order to demonstrate that the measure is “necessary, effective, proportional, non-discriminatory, and that there is no better or less restrictive alternative”.
He also states that this is an “experiment” in which “Spanish citizens are the guinea pigs”.
In this sense, he remarks that “the V16 geolocatable beacon is not regulated in any other country in the world, clear proof that this is an experiment in which Spanish citizens are the guinea pigs. The Spanish vehicle driving in any other country must carry the traditional and inveterate triangles, or risk being sanctioned. However, the foreign vehicle circulating in Spain is not obliged to carry this fraudulent device, creating a discrimination, proscribed by art 14 of the Constitution”.
Who are Cops for Freedom
Policías por la Libertad is a non-profit association registered on April 15, 2021 in the National Registry of Associations under number 622015. According to its own presentation, it is made up of members of different state security forces, such as the National Police, Civil Guard, Mossos d’Esquadra, Ertzaintza, Port Police, firefighters, military and also citizens.
The organization emerged in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, as a critical response to the restrictions imposed by the government. Since then, it has openly questioned institutional decisions on public health, data protection, technological control and individual freedoms.
In their manifesto, they denounce that the State uses legislation to restrict fundamental rights and “control the population through fear and social division”.
“We are committed to protecting the people, upholding truth, justice and freedoms, guided by the principles we as police officers swore to uphold in order to serve the people,” they state on their website.
The association has denounced having suffered media discrediting, censorship in social networks, hacks and disciplinary sanctions against some of its members. They accuse the political and media power of trying to silence their messages because they consider them uncomfortable for the established system.
Since its foundation, it has promoted legal appeals, demonstrations and information campaigns. One of its visible leaders is the Valencian local policeman Juan Manuel Ramos Mateo, who has disseminated messages on social networks questioning vaccination, gender policies and the mandatory use of masks.
In public statements, he has gone so far as to compare the management of the pandemic to the Nuremberg trials, saying, “They are injecting us with something we don’t know what it is.”
Currently, Policías por la Libertad maintains a line of active opposition to what they consider arbitrary measures of the State, such as the implementation of the connected V-16 beacon, promoting models of appeal to challenge sanctions for not using it.
Continue reading:
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DGT clarifies how to correctly use connected V16 beacons: do’s and don’ts in case of failure
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Where to get and how much it costs the V16 beacon that will be mandatory in Ibiza and throughout Spain in 2026
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The DGT confirms it: this is the only type of car that will not have to carry the mandatory V-16 beacon as of January
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Countdown to the V-16 beacon: what you need to know before it becomes mandatory in 2026
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