The reunion has not left from the GDR. But a socialist achievement has it made in 1994 in the German road traffic regulations: the green arrow that allows traffic lights even when the red light after a prior Stop, turn right. This traffic sign comes in a few weeks, slightly modified, in Darmstadt: a green arrow, including the word “only”, followed by the Signet of a Bicycle. Turn right when the traffic light is red, so the sign is trying to say, is allowed at this intersection, but exclusively for cyclists.
Rainer Hein
correspondent of the Rhein-Main-Zeitung in Darmstadt, Germany.
F. A. Z.
Joe rubbed seeds
editor in the Rhein-Main-Zeitung.
F. A. Z.
With Ossi nostalgia has nothing to do with it. It is a pilot project of the Federal office for road engineering, the want to examine in nine cities by the year 2020, whether this transport scheme increases the safety on the roads. At the trial, and in Darmstadt is involved except Bamberg, Düsseldorf, Köln, Leipzig, München, Münster, Germany, Reutlingen, and Stuttgart.
There, the Initiative came from the green-black coalition, which had been introduced in September 2017, a corresponding request by the city Council and then three months later decided to. The establishment, by the new road sign Cycling could be in the city, perhaps safer, had by this time been through the death of two cyclists dramatically confirmed.
Test at three intersections
Now to be tested, the scheme of the right corners at a Red light on three intersections: count road, a shopping street, sawmill Avenue/Berliner Allee and Heinheimer road/rhön ring. Expected by March, when the signs are installed, cyclists of the holzhof Avenue, Earl street and the Heinheimer road, turn at a red traffic light to the right. Since it is a transport experiment, is monitored by the control through cameras. The aim of this Review is, like transport Department, Barbara Boczek (The Greens) says, to observe the behaviour of cyclists and to identify whether there would be conflicts. The aim is not to penalise any infringements. “The cameras are not recording identifiable individuals.”
That a pilot test is necessary, is because of the different evaluation of the turn-off rule. So there is pedestrian associations, the fear of an increased risk of accident, and the insurer, the trust, the green cyclist arrow as ineffective. Whether 2020 is adapted to the road traffic regulations depends on the results of the Experiments in the nine municipalities. Boczek recalled that there were similar concerns in the release of one-way streets in both directions for cyclists. Meanwhile, it was realized, however, and it is not working. One way or the other the shield of the forest is likely to grow in Darmstadt, Germany. A few months ago, the city has, for example, increase the number of so-called Trixi mirrors from 15 to 18. This round mirror hanging on the busy street intersections and is intended to show truck drivers who want to turn right, the “dead angle”. The two fatal accidents in 2017 would have probably avoided if the driver of this mirror had seen the cyclists before turning.
Euro 16 million for Cycling network
Also sets the city of Darmstadt, which has decided a 16-million-Euro Expansion of the Cycling network on road safety. So, for example, a traffic island to make it easier for the old tax office, it is pedestrians and cyclists to cross the pond house road, and four intersections will be examined whether advanced stop lines at traffic lights to improve the safety of cyclists, because you can enter the car Park before the cars in the intersections.
