Germans hate traffic

[rkmsuf]

BRILLIANT!
----------------------------
German town ditches traffic lights to cut accidents By Catherine Bosley
Mon Sep 10, 11:00 AM ET



BERLIN (Reuters) - A town council in Germany has decided the best way of improving road safety is to remove all traffic lights and stop signs downtown.

ADVERTISEMENT

From September 12, all traffic controls will disappear from the centre of the western town of Bohmte to try to reduce accidents and make life easier for pedestrians.

In an area used by 13,500 cars every day, drivers and pedestrians will enjoy equal right of way, Klaus Goedejohann, the town's mayor, told Reuters.

"Traffic will no longer be dominant," he said.

The idea of removing signs to improve road safety, called "Shared Space", was developed by Dutch traffic specialist Hans Monderman, and is supported by the European Union.

The EU will cover half of the 1.2 million euros (789,000 pounds) it will cost Bohmte to ditch its traffic lights.

Monderman's ideas have already been implemented in the town of Drachten in the north of the Netherlands, where all stop lights, traffic signs, pavements, and street markings have gone.

"It's been very successful there," Goedejohann said, adding that accidents in Drachten had been reduced significantly.

Officials in Fuerstenberg/Havel, a small town north of Berlin, are also considering adopting the "Shared Space" scheme.

But not everyone is confident it will work.

"Just because it worked in the Netherlands doesn't mean it will work here," said Werner Koeppe, a road specialist at Berlin's Technical Traffic Institute.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070910/...stHaUQoUntiBIF

[MikeVic]

Originally Posted by rkmsuf

But not everyone is confident it will work.

"Just because it worked in the Netherlands doesn't mean it will work here," said Werner Koeppe, a road specialist at Berlin's Technical Traffic Institute.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070910/...stHaUQoUntiBIF

Germans hate the Dutch.

[lighthousekeeper]

i wonder what insurance companies think of this change.

[Klinglerware]

Originally Posted by lighthousekeeper

i wonder what insurance companies think of this change.

I do know that insurance companies love statistics. For example, where they are legally allowed to do so, they take credit scores into account when setting rates--this is due to the research demonstrating the statistical correlation between credit scores and claims.

So, if the statistics are convincing, the insurance companies are likely to run with it.

[Coffee Warlord]

Originally Posted by Klinglerware

So, if the statistics are convincing, the insurance companies are likely to run with it.

Only if it means pushing rates upward, of course.

[cuervo72]

Originally Posted by rkmsuf

BRILLIANT!
----------------------------
German town ditches traffic lights to cut accidents By Catherine Bosley

Isn't this the former anchorwoman who was fired for the wet t-shirt contest video?

[Critch]

The system is apparently based on everybody knowing and following the rules, and on common courtesy.

So it would never work here.

[sabotai]

But they still love David Hasselhoff.

[Neon_Chaos]

Originally Posted by Critch

The system is apparently based on everybody knowing and following the rules, and on common courtesy.

So it would never work here.

After all, those signs and lights are just there to determine culpability in case an accident happens, right?

[Draft Dodger]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

Isn't this the former anchorwoman who was fired for the wet t-shirt contest video?

serially? that's an amazing mammory you have there.

[st.cronin]

Originally Posted by sabotai

But they still love David Hasselhoff.

beat me to it

[Greyroofoo]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

Isn't this the former anchorwoman who was fired for the wet t-shirt contest video?

google is your friend

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by MikeVic

Germans hate the Dutch.

Nah, it's generally the other way around.

But uhm, they tested it in Drachten? i had no idea they had traffic up there.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by MIJB#19

But uhm, they tested it in Drachten? i had no idea they had traffic up there.

I get the feeling this would work great in small, rural areas where most people know each other. In the summer I live on an island in Maine with no traffic signals of any kind and there aren't any problems.

[sterlingice]

I think a caveat needs to be brought into this- if you walk in front of traffic, you do so at your own risk. And if you get hit for doing something stupid (i.e. assuming you have the same right of way as a half ton chunk of fiberglass and steel), then it's your own damn fault.

Kindof like how some bicyclists think they have the same right of way on 30+ mph streets. Once you can pedal 30+, you can drive with the cars.

SI

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

Kindof like how some bicyclists think they have the same right of way on 30+ mph streets. Once you can pedal 30+, you can drive with the cars.

Though as soon as they hit a stop sign, they suddenly have the rights of pedestrians instead.

[MikeVic]

Originally Posted by mckerney

Though as soon as they hit a stop sign, they suddenly have the rights of pedestrians instead.

FUCK do cyclists piss me off. Stay on the damn sidewalks or follow traffic rules. Don't go through reds just because there are no cars coming. Don't try to ride past me AS I'M TURNING. I check for pedestrians, but not a bike whizzing past my car as I try to turn! If you hit my car, you're paying for damages. I don't care how hurt you are.