Torrevieja Forum and Discussion Board

From what I can gather the Guardia Civil traffic police are against the V16 as much as the general public.

https://alicantetoday.com/spanish-polic ... m_navigate

Having "met" highway bandits, although not in a breakdown situation, before, anything which could help them is certainly not a good idea!

And from todays Informacion:


Thefts from inside vehicles in Alicante skyrocket due to the beacons

The requirement to carry a GPS Beacon in cars for emergency situations is already being exploited by repeat offenders who are robbing vehicles to secure a small haul. Less than two weeks after this traffic measure came into effect , these types of thefts are skyrocketing in the city of Alicante , where the National Police are certain that the implementation of this requirement has led to an increase. It's a tempting lure for these types of criminals, who are not part of organized gangs and are often drug addicts who break car windows to obtain any valuable item to buy their daily dose of drugs.

https://www.informacion.es/sucesos/suce ... =btn-share

Bee

Brandyboy wrote: 13 Jan 2026 09:50 From what I can gather the Guardia Civil traffic police are against the V16 as much as the general public.

https://alicantetoday.com/spanish-polic ... m_navigate

Last year we had the concerns raised about the visibility of an activated device, and now this year starts off with the potential for criminals to exploit stranded motorists because it is too visible on a public map. You would have hoped both issues would have been considered during testing.

I do not understand the logic of the suggestion in the last paragraph of the article. I accept someone in A Coruña may not be interested in an activated V16 in Madrid, but criminals are not going to be driving half the length of Spain for a stranded car anyway, the criminals will target closer to home which may align with the proposed geofenced 2 - 3 kms radius of their location. I do not see how the geofencing of any defined radius would protect a motorist.

You might as well put a banner on your car
'' Have broken down , please feel free to assault us and help yourself to anything you want from the car ''

It's becoming a farce now. I've never broken down in the 26 years I've lived here, but that's by the by.

As is common knowledge now the police are advising you to use the warning triangles in conjunction with the V16 and also, if possible, exit your car to a place of safety, which has been the advice for many years, no matter country you are in.

Some of comments on Facebook ranged from the sublime to the ridiculous and I'm so glad that the Guardia Civil allowed common sense to prevail.

But no matter, I have a V16, warning triangles, yellow hi viz top and my car has four way flashers, so I'm good to go, oh and am still waiting for my new renewed driving license to arrive.