When we talk about emergency lights we usually refer to 'warning', visible signals with which we alert other drivers that there is something wrong with our vehicle. These are four turn signals that are activated by pressing the triangle button that we can see on the dashboard. On many occasions, drivers do not make proper use of the emergency lights, activating them when it is not necessary. In this way, the true purpose of the lights is distorted.
Therefore, we are going to tell you here in which situations it is mandatory to install emergency lights. By making good use of them we will be contributing to road safety.
The General Traffic Regulations refer to emergency lights in article 109, explicitly intended for optical signals:
“The driver must warn through optical signals of any maneuver that involves a lateral or backward movement of his vehicle, as well as his intention to immobilize it or brake its progress considerably. Such optical warnings will be given sufficiently in advance of the start of the maneuver, and, if they are luminous, they will remain in operation until the maneuver ends.
In this same article we find the allusion to which the headline refers through two relevant observations:
In the first we read “The intention to immobilize the vehicle or to brake its progress considerably, even when such events are imposed by traffic circumstances, must be warned, whenever possible, through the repeated use of the brake lights or well by moving the arm alternately up and down with short and quick movements.
In the second: “When the immobilization takes place on a highway or highway, or in places or circumstances that significantly reduce visibility, the presence of the vehicle must be signaled by using the emergency light, if available, and , if applicable, with the position lights”
That is to say: you only have to use the emergency light when the car is completely stopped. If you find yourself in a traffic jam, you should only activate the warnings if you are completely stopped. Otherwise, you will have to brake several times to warn other cars of your situation.
It is also advisable to activate the emergency lights:
