Spain’s DGT presents its new smart-cone devices designed to prevent traffic accidents

New smart-cone devices designed to prevent traffic accidents have been presented by Spain’s General Directorate of Traffic (DGT).

Pere Navarro, the General Director of Traffic (DGT) in Spain, and Gloria Ramos, the Head of the State Road Demarcation in Madrid, today, Monday, October 24, presented new smart-cone devices designed to prevent traffic accidents.

This is due to the fact that they will allow drivers to receive warnings in real-time in advance of reaching the proximity of any road works that are being carried out on roads across Spain.

These cones will be geolocated and give off flashes of light, which will allow companies to install them and turn them on when work begins. When they are activated, a signal will automatically be received at the Traffic Management Centre of the DGT.

This information will be shared in real-time through the DGT’s 3.0 Platform and the National Access Point. That will enable drivers to have prior information on the execution of works to be found along the route of their journey. It is a system that also increases the safety of maintenance personnel who work on the roads

DGT data show that more than 10,000 works are carried out on the Spanish road system each year. That generates more than 100,000 traffic management incidents, including traffic closures, narrowing of lanes, detours, etc.

According to data from the National Registry of Traffic Accident Victims, in 2021, there were 158 claims related to maintenance and conservation works on roads. Of this total, 17 involved operators who worked or walked on the road or its surroundings as pedestrians.

Two of the 17 lost their lives after being run over by a vehicle that was travelling along the section under construction at excessive speed and due to the driver’s distraction. The other 141 traffic accidents that occurred in construction sections in 2021 involved conservation and maintenance operators inside their vehicles.

The presentation of this innovative tool coincides with the start of a new surveillance and control campaign from the General Directorate of Traffic that started this Monday 24. For the first time, it will be focused on works on interurban roads of circulation 

This campaign, which will last until next Sunday, October 30, will concentrate on compliance by drivers with the signals established in the sections of work that are being carried out.

It is designed to help reduce the risks inherent to the human factor, as well as speeding, inappropriate lane changes, and distractions, as reported by larazon.es.

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