German Roads Become Safer For Motorcyclists With Plastic Posts And Signs Member news by Wim Taal - June 21, 2018 New developments on road safety for motorcyclists in Germany: a new type of road sign has been developed and successfully tested in Germany. The posts and the signs themselves are made of plastic material instead of steel, which has been used until now. Photograph: ADAC/Wolfgang Frank The new road signs will be installed in curves to point out that there is a sharp bend coming. The Ministry of Transport of Baden Wuertemberg just recently approved the use of this road equipment for all new installation sites in this country. Existing installations will be replaced step by step. The procedure to approve the new road signs by the Federal Ministry of Transport allowing their use in all German countries is on its way. DEKRA has tested the new road signs in case of a motorcycle accident with very impressive results. A collision of a sliding motorcyclist with a steel post will most probably end up with fatal injuries. A collision with the new system would cause only minor injuries, because the post will easily break. Click here to read the test report and to watch the test video’s. Interestingly, there was also a significant reduction in the number of motorcycle accidents after replacing the steel road signs with the new ones. The reason for that is not clear yet. But, the highest risk of having serious injuries and/or a fatal accident is in a curve – not only in Germany but also in the rest of the world. The development of the new system was actively supported by the German motorcyclists’ association (and FEMA member) Biker Union e.V. as part of the Working Group ‘Motorcycle Safety’ of the German Road and Transportation Research Association, elaborating a new edition of the German ‘Handbook to Improve Road Infrastructure for Motorcycles’. Click here to download a report (in German) about the test period in Baden Wuertemberg.
Itll never happen.....one less taxpayer roaming the streets wont hurt them ( The government ) too much....any budget will be spent on putting up more pointless 20mph signs ( That are metal ). Hell theres 2 in our road and its a fucking dead end! Great idea though.
I would imagine the reduction in accidents would be down to the signs being new hence riders taking more notice of them. The idea is great, collapsible street furniture in accident zones and should be followed. I would like to know the plastics are recyclable, I imagine they are? Melt them down and make new ones? That will be a major point.
The lamp posts are still a huge issue though. Maybe they could suspend the lighting from fewer uprights using cables in accident black spots?
Pisses me off the amount of "road furniture" at particular points. Every sign seems to need its own posts, within yards of each other. Bends signed, then warned, then indicated with huge chevron boards. All of which have reflective paint so that the back glare at nights is terrific. Add in the destination and tourist signs to the mix and there's a veritable forest of metal poles on the verge. (Plus they all start to rust at the ground, needing repainting/replacement)
It’s not designed for those roads though. From my experience they are definitely helpful in the windy German forests and countryside.
