Arm and other signals

Article 143. Arm and other signals.
1. Traffic officers regulating traffic will ensure that they are easily recognizable at a distance at all times, that their signals are visible. Their orders must be immediately obeyed by road users. The following persons must wear reflective clothing whilst working; Traffic Officers or Military Police regulating traffic, works personnel, those accompanying special transport regime vehicles, school patrols, civil protection personnel, sporting activities personnel, and others specified in section 4 of this Article. The relective clothing must be visible to approaching drivers at a minimum distance of 150 m.
2. As a general rule, traffic officers will use the following signals:
a) Arm raised vertically: obliges all drivers approaching the officer to stop, except drivers who cannot do so in conditions of sufficient safety. If at an intersection, it does not oblige drivers to stop who have already entered it. Stopping must occur before the nearest stop line or, in its absense, immediately before the officer. At an intersection, stopping must occur before entering it. After this signal, the officer may indicate the place where stopping must occur.
b) Arm or arms extended horizontally: obliges all road users approaching the officer from directions that cross the path indicated by the arm or extended arms from whatever direction to stop. This signal remains in force even if the officer lowers his arm or arms, until he changes position or gives another signal.
c) Waving a yellow or red light: obliges road users towards which the agent directs the light to stop.
d) Arm extended moving it alternatively up and down: this signal obliges drivers approaching the officer perpendicular to the side corresponding to the signalling arm to reduce their speed.
e) Other signals: when circumstances demand, officers may use any other signal different from the above in a clear manner. Officers may order vehicles to stop with short whistle blasts, and a ‘go’ signal with a long blast.
3. Officers may give orders or indications to road users while by using signal V-1 in the RGV, through loud hailer or by any other means that can be clearly understood, including the following:
a) Red flag: indicates that the road beyond the vehicle with the flag is temporarily closed to all traffic, except those accompanied or escorted by traffic officers.
b) Green Flag: indicates that the road beyond the vehicle with the flag is reopened to traffic.
c) Yellow Flag: indicates to other drivers and road users the presence of danger. This flag may also be used by personnel responsible for the order, control or safety during cycling events or any other activity, sporting or not, on roads subject to the LST.
d) Arm extended and inclined downwards: obliges the user indicated to stop on the right hand side.
e) Flashing yellow or red lights: obliges the driver preceding the officer to stop the vehicle on the right hand side, in front of the police vehicle, in a place where it does not create further risk or annoyance to other users, and to follow the instructions of the officer by means of loud speaker.
4. In the absence of traffic officers or to help them, and in the circumstances and conditions established in this regulation, Military Police, works personnel or those accompanying special transport vehicles may regulate traffic by means of signals R-2 and R-400, and by the same means, school patrols can require road users to stop. When the competent authority authorizes sporting or other activities that require traffic controls on urban or interurban roads, the authority responsible for the traffic may authorize civil protection personnel or the responsible organization to bar access of vehicles or pedestrians to the affected area or itinerary, in the conditions set out in Annex II.
When Security or Armed Forces of the State, in the scope of their duty, establish controls for public safety on the highway, they may regulate traffic in the absence of traffic officers.
The form and meaning of signals and orders of traffic officers will conform to that in the official Catalogue of Traffic signals. These signals also appear in Annex I.

Warnings of other vehicles

Article 113. Warnings of other vehicles.
In accordance with the arrangements in Article 71, drivers of works or service vehicles and of tractors, agricultural machinery and other vehicles or special transport will advertise their presence by means of the use of the flashing light (V-2) mentioned in Article 173, or by means of lights determined in the RGV.

Warnings by emergency service vehicles

Article 112. Warnings by emergency service vehicles.
Drivers of vehicles of the police, fire, civil protection and rescue services, and medical assistance, public or private, when travelling in an emergency, may advertise their presence in accordance with the arrangements in Article 68.2.

General rules

Article 111. General rules.
Emergency service vehicles, public or private, special vehicles and special transports may use other optical and acoustic signals in the cases and under the conditions determined in the following Articles of this section.

Acoustic warnings

Article 110. Acoustic warnings.
1. Exceptionally, or if required by the LST, non-strident horn signals may be used. Their unwarranted or exaggerated use is prohibited.
2. Horn signals may only be used by drivers of non-high priority vehicles:
a) In order to avoid a possible accident and, exceptionally on narrow roads with many bends.
b) To warn, outside town, the driver of another vehicle of the intention to overtake.
c) To advertise their presence to other road users, in accordance with Article 70.

Visible signals

Article 109. Visible signals.
1. Drivers must indicate by means of visible signals any maneuver that implies a lateral or backwards movement of the vehicle, as well as their intention to stop it or reduce speed considerably. Such visible signals must be done sufficiently in advance of the start of the maneuver, and, if they are lights, they must remain in operation until the maneuver is finished.
2. They must take into consideration, in addition, the following:
a) lateral displacement must be signalled by using direction indicators corresponding to the direction that it is going to take, or by arm signal, in the horizontal position with the palm of the hand extended downwards, if the movement is going to be towards the side that the hand indicates, or doubled upwards, also with the palm of the extended hand, if it is going to be towards the opposite side.
In maneuvers that imply a lateral movement, it is this that is exclusively signalled, for this reason the signal must be cancelled as soon as the vehicle has adopted its new direction.
b) Reversing must be signalled with the corresponding reversing light, if fitted, or if not, by extending the arm horizontally with the palm of the hand backwards.
c) The intention to halt the vehicle or reduce speed considerably, even if imposed by traffic conditions, must be signalled either by (whenever possible) repeated use of the brake lights or by moving the arm up and down with short and fast movements.
When stopping on an autopista or autovía or in places or circumstances where visibility is greatly reduced, the presence of the vehicle must be signalled by use of the hazard warning lights if fitted, or by position lights.
If stopping or parking then, in addition, the direction indicator corresponding to the side towards it is going to move must be used, if fitted.
3. With the same aim, horn signals noted in the following Article may be replaced by use of intermittent headlight flashes, or both alternately, at very short intervals and avoiding dazzling other users.

Obligation to indicate maneuvers

Article 108. Obligation to indicate maneuvers.
1. Drivers are required to signal to other road users any maneuvers that they are going to carry out with their vehicles (LST Art 44,1).
2. Generally these warnings will be done using the vehicle lights or, in their absense, with the arm (LST Art 44,2).
The validity of arm signals is conditional that they are visible to other road users and that they are performed in accordance with the arrangements in the following Article, and annul any other visible indication that contradicts them.

Signaling of obstacles and dangers.

Article 5. Signaling of obstacles and dangers.
1. Whoever creates on the road some obstacle or danger must remove it as quickly as possible, and must take the necessary measures in the process so that it is signalled to other users and so that traffic is not impeded (LST Art 10,3).
2. Obstacles in the road will not be considered as such in pedestrian crossings, provided they meet the regulations of the Ministry of Public Works and the Economy and that the safety of users, in particular cyclists, is guaranteed.
3. In order to signal the presence in the road of any obstacle or danger, the person causing it must signal it in an effective way, at all times, in accordance with the arrangements in Articles 130,3, 140 and 173.
4. All works that require the services of mechanical help, health or any other type of intervention must be governed by the principles of use of the suitable and strictly necessary resources in each case. The competent authority will decide the presence and permanence in the area of all any personnel and equipment that is essential and they will ensure the absence of unauthorised from the works; in addition, they will indicate in each case where emergency service vehicles or other special services are to be located.
5. The actions of the emergency services, as well those of recovery and breakdown services and those of highway maintenance, will try to cause the least possible disturbance to other traffic, occupying the minimum amount of road and following at all times the instructions of the competent authority. The behavior of drivers and users in case of emergency will be in accordance with Articles 69, 129 and 130 and, in particular, drivers of emergency service vehicles, in accordance with the arrangements in Articles 67, 68, 111 and 112.
6. Stopping or parking of the vehicles belonging to the mentioned services will take place so that it does not create a new danger, and where it causes the least disruption to the traffic.
7. Stopping or parking in places other than those designated by traffic officers are treated as serious offences in accordance with the (LST Art 65.4.d).