Road digitalisation involves more than installing sensors, cameras or illuminated signs. For these technologies to work in a coordinated way, the different systems must be able to exchange data, use compatible formats and communicate information to public authorities, operators and users.

Royal Decree 450/2026, published on 5 June, establishes a new framework for deploying Intelligent Transport Systems in Spain. The legislation transposes European Directive 2023/2661 into national law and replaces Royal Decree 662/2012, which had regulated this field for more than a decade.

Although the legislation uses the Spanish abbreviation SIT, the English abbreviation ITS, standing for Intelligent Transport Systems, is also widely used in the sector.

What does Royal Decree 450/2026 regulate?

The new royal decree does not prescribe a single technological solution or require the deployment of a specific application. Its purpose is to establish the general conditions for the coordinated and consistent deployment of ITS in road transport and its interfaces with other modes of transport.

The legislation defines Intelligent Transport Systems as systems that apply information and communication technologies to:

  • Road infrastructure.
  • Vehicles.
  • Road users.
  • Traffic and mobility management.
  • Interfaces between road transport and other modes of transport.

The framework covers a wide range of applications: traffic information, incident management, multimodal mobility, cooperative systems, weather data, connected vehicle operation and the communication of restrictions and road hazards.

Smart junctions can therefore form part of the ITS ecosystem, but they are just one of many possible applications.

Data at the heart of connected mobility

One of the key elements of Royal Decree 450/2026 is data availability, access and exchange.

A connected road can generate information about traffic conditions, weather, roadworks, restrictions, accidents, obstacles and the availability of certain services. However, these data are only useful at network level when they can be shared in a structured way.

The legislation establishes obligations relating to data availability and the provision of certain ITS services. It also updates the General Traffic Regulations to strengthen the real-time communication of limitations, restrictions, incidents and events affecting traffic.

This affects public bodies as well as infrastructure managers, operators and providers that generate or use mobility-related information.

National access points

The royal decree establishes different National Access Points as digital nodes that facilitate access to data from multiple sources.

These include:

  • The National Access Point for Traffic and Mobility.
  • The National Access Point for Multimodal Transport.
  • The National Access Point for Safe and Secure Parking Areas for Trucks and Commercial Vehicles.

Spain’s Directorate-General for Traffic must publish the requirements for exchanging and communicating data to the National Access Point for Traffic and Mobility within a maximum of twenty-four months of the royal decree entering into force.

These nodes enable information generated by different public authorities and operators to be used in management platforms, navigation services, control centres and connected vehicles.

Interoperability: beyond installing sensors

Equipping infrastructure with sensors makes it possible to detect events, but does not in itself guarantee that the information reaches those who need to use it.

To form part of an ITS environment, devices must be integrated into an architecture capable of:

  • Collecting data from different sources.
  • Sharing information using compatible formats.
  • Communicating with external platforms.
  • Triggering responses to specific events.
  • Maintaining service continuity across geographical areas and operators.

The royal decree defines interoperability as the ability of systems and their processes to exchange data, share information and enable the continuity of ITS services.

Progress towards connected mobility therefore involves more than adding isolated technologies: it requires the deployment of equipment designed to communicate within a wider network.

Cooperative systems: C-ITS

The new framework includes Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems, or C-ITS, among its priority areas.

These systems enable information exchange between vehicles, infrastructure and other users. An incident detected on the road can be communicated to a control centre, the emergency services, a navigation application or directly to a connected vehicle.

The aim is to ensure that information does not remain solely at the location where it was generated, but can be used to manage traffic and warn other users.

Solutions such as PlugSmart® Pro turn existing equipment into connected devices. The system can detect different risk scenarios and communicate events to regional or national access points, management centres and mobility-related services.

Road equipment within digital infrastructure

Roads feature barriers, parapets, terminals, crash cushions and other devices traditionally designed to perform a physical function. Adding sensors, connectivity and signalling gives these elements new capabilities.

A connected vehicle restraint system can detect an impact, identify adverse conditions or activate an illuminated warning. The information can then be transmitted to a management platform to support monitoring and intervention.

PLUG&META® technology enables these functions to be integrated into different urban and interurban environments. Its application turns road equipment into a node capable of detecting, signalling and communicating hazardous situations.

In urban environments, Metaurban® SMART combines vehicle containment, lighting and sensing to generate real-time information and trigger responses relating to pedestrians, speed, visibility or road incidents.

Does the royal decree provide a definitive boost?

Royal Decree 450/2026 does not, in itself, mean that new devices will be installed immediately on every road. Nor does it specify a particular technology for each situation.

Its main contribution is to update the legal framework, expand the priority areas and strengthen obligations relating to data, services and interoperability. Specific technical requirements will need to be developed through European legislation, ministerial orders and subsequent resolutions.

It is therefore more accurate to describe it as an update and consolidation of the framework for Intelligent Transport Systems than as a definitive boost to a particular application.

Infrastructure designed to share information

The new regulatory landscape places interoperability and data availability at the heart of transport digitalisation.

Public authorities and infrastructure managers will need to consider not only which devices to install, but also how they will connect, what information they will generate, which platforms they will be able to communicate with and how they will integrate into national and European services.

Metalesa develops connected and intelligent equipment designed to combine physical safety, risk detection, signalling and communication with external systems.

The evolution of roads depends on integrating these capabilities into equipment from the design stage, so that each element can fulfil its protective function while also participating in a connected mobility network.