Major Adjustments to Traffic Light Rules
Starting October 1, the Spanish Directorate-General for Traffic (DGT) will officially implement systemic adjustments to the operational logic of traffic lights at intersections nationwide. The core of this adjustment is to end the long-standing “flashing amber era”: at any intersection controlled by traffic lights, the flashing amber light for motor vehicles and the green light for pedestrians will be completely separated and no longer light up simultaneously.
According to the General Traffic Regulations reform bill approved in early July, future intersection signals will adopt an absolutely clear binary system. Once the green light turns on for the pedestrian direction, the corresponding vehicle signal must mandatorily display a red light. This means that drivers must come to a complete stop when facing pedestrians crossing the street, eliminating the possibility of vehicles coasting or rushing due to ambiguous signals when pedestrians have the right of way.
Eliminating “Contradictory Signals” to Protect Vulnerable Groups
For a long time, the setting of flashing amber lights for vehicles synchronized with green lights for pedestrians has exposed serious safety risks in actual traffic scenarios. Ana Blanco, Deputy Director of Traffic at the DGT, publicly pointed out as early as 2022 that this signal overlap sends “contradictory messages” to road users, easily causing drivers to misjudge road conditions and posing a direct threat to pedestrians.
Historical data highlights the danger of this intersection setting. According to official statistics, in 2019 alone, 47 pedestrians in Spain were tragically killed by vehicles at crosswalks controlled by traffic lights, and another 317 pedestrians were severely injured and hospitalized due to such traffic accidents. The implementation of the new rules aims to cut off this ambiguous signaling at the source, maximizing the protection of the lives of pedestrians and other vulnerable road users.
New Rules for Micro-Mobility Vehicles and Night Driving
In addition to the adjustment of motor vehicle signals, the new General Traffic Regulations also introduce stricter safety constraint mechanisms for increasingly popular personal mobility vehicles such as electric scooters and bicycles. The regulations clearly define that the legal minimum age for riding an electric scooter in Spain is 15 years old.
When riding at night or encountering low-visibility weather conditions, riders of electric scooters and bicycles are mandated to turn on their vehicle lights, wear safety helmets, and put on reflective vests. For professional transport drivers, the requirement to wear reflective vests at night will be continuously enforced as a normalized standard. For violations such as failing to wear a helmet or a reflective vest as required, the traffic enforcement department will impose a uniform administrative fine of 200 euros.
