At the beginning of July, Germany extended the toll to all federal roads. In connection with this, roadside poles were installed, which drivers take for speed cameras. Rapid braking at the sight of the new devices is the reason for the increase in the number of accidents.
Although the new blue posts take pictures only and exclusively of trucks and serve to control toll payments, many drivers take them for speed cameras – informs the newspaper „Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung” (HAZ). Drivers often brake very rapidly just in front of the control pole for fear of exceeding the speed limit. This dangerous maneuver increases the risk of accidents involving a vehicle moving behind it. According to the Hanoverian daily, many collisions have occurred in the region since the beginning of the month.
Local police inform drivers that the posts are not used to measure speed and call for speed limits to be respected regardless of the new devices – then rapid braking will not be needed.
❓Habt ihr auch schon den großen blauen Blitzer an der Bundesstraße gesehen❓
Es handelt sich hierbei um keine "Blitzersäulen", sondern um Kontrollsäulen für die neue Lkw-Maut auf Bundesstraßen!
Da es im Bereich Unterfranken bereits zu mehreren Auffahrunfällen gekommen ist: pic.twitter.com/VQKc4EOrIJ
— Polizei Unterfranken (@PolizeiUFR) July 3, 2018
Control poles
4-meter poles (in the picture), which have been installed all over the country, operate on a similar principle to the control gates. They are placed on the side of the roadway and are a supplement to mobile controls carried out by the Federal Office of Freight Transport (BAG). In total, about 600 such devices have been set up in Germany.
Perhaps German offices responsible for toll collection and road safety should organize an information campaign that would make drivers aware of what blue poles are for. Then the number of accidents caused by the confusion of drivers would be smaller.
Photo: Twitter.com/RintelnAktuell