The association AFASEMETRA denounces that there are many signs that do not come in the General Traffic Regulations or in the official Code and causes confusion
There is a general problem with many of the traffic signals that result unknown for many drivers, even those who have just gotten their license, because they do not appear in the General Traffic Regulations or in the official Code. According to the association APASEMETRA, this situation is due to the fact that many of those signs They are not part of the driving school agenda, because they are not official.
The president of the Association of Manufacturers of Metallic Traffic Signs, Francisco Cano, ensures that the signs included in the General Traffic Regulations and the Official Catalog of Vertical Signs They are not the same. The Regulation establishes the shapes, dimensions and colors of vertical signs and cites two documents for manufacturers: the Highway Standard 8.1-IC Vertical Signaling and the Catalog of Vertical Traffic Signs Volumes I and II.
Insecurity and confusion for drivers
According to the AFASEMETRA complaint, in total they are 125 new signs and posters and another 20 canceled, of the 400 included in the official Catalog. This causes a lot insecurity and confusion in many drivers, especially in those who can see different signs for the same purpose, depending on the municipality where they are, which generates a decrease in the credibility of the signage.
It is essential for signal manufacturers to have adequate clear and unambiguous guidelines of how they should be the signs that they should manufacture. As Francisco Cano points out, “18 years have passed since the last modification of the regulation, in which we have been manufacturing new models of signs that are not covered by any national legislation, as would be desirable”.
Different signals for the same purpose
The problem is also important for those responsible for signaling the roads, whether municipal, provincial, autonomous or state, because, “When there is no official sign, they are forced to devise a new one and collect it in their own regulations in order to give it legality, or they use signs collected in drafts of the catalog.”, Affirms the president of AFASEMETRA.
If each administration creates its own signal, the manufacturer can produce different signals for the same purpose.
This article was published in Autobild by Álvaro Escobar.