Jerram
11th October 2010, 11:02 AM
This guy points out what many of us already know and are irritated by.
words - Ken Gratton (http://www.carsales.com.au/news-reviews-advice/results.aspx?N=2981+4294966552)
Speed limits are out of whack and armco is a potential killer, says Ullrich Mellinghoff
The Vice President of Development Safety for Mercedes-Benz, Ullrich Mellinghof (http://www.carsales.com.au/news/2009/mercedesbenz/fatalityfree-roads-a-realistic-target-16808), is currently in Australia as part of the prestige importer's travelling safety roadshow. Mellinghof has been accompanied on his trip to the antipodes by other safety experts and two advanced simulators to demonstrate the company's commitment to active and passive safety.
Subsequent to a presentation last week at the importer's Mulgrave HQ, Mellinghof was asked by local media for his opinion on the issue of road safety in Australia, based admittedly on a brief exposure (one week) to the best and worst of the local road network.
"I was a little bit surprised about two things; first: you have very restricted speed limit on highways [and] on the other [hand], in the city or urban areas you can drive very often [at] 70 or 80km/h, although there are a lot of people living around [those areas]. In Germany we have a maximum of 60km/h -- normally 50km/h. This was a little bit surprising for me.
"Second, I think that what is not so easy to handle is that trucks are allowed to drive at the same speed [as] passenger cars, although we know that trucks need -- from 80 to 0 -- the same length in braking as a passenger car from 120 to 0. So I think it would be helpful if there was a differentiation..."
The Carsales Network asked whether speed differentiation could pose a problem, with vehicles travelling at vastly different speeds mixing it up on the same roads. In Australia, without major changes to driver education, it could create more problems than it would resolve. Mellinghof, based on his experience in Germany, doesn't believe that speed differentiation need be a problem, but by implication, for the German strategy to be transplanted here would require some heavy-handed policing in the early years. Ensuring that drivers do keep left and fining them if they don't, for example, or changing the rules of the road to permit overtaking on just one side -- the right side in Australia.
"I don't think that it is indeed a big problem, because in Germany it's not allowed to pass other cars on both sides -- you always have to pass on the left side. This divides the traffic more or less -- the faster driving on the left side and the slower [cars] driving on the right side. Therefore, I think it can be handled, this speed difference."
The Benz exec holds the view that on our much longer freeways -- between capital cities -- the roads are good enough to warrant a speed limit as high as 140km/h, which could reduce fatigue considerably, with a consequent reduction in single-vehicle crashes.
"Maybe a top speed of 200 is not necessary, but... it's better to drive at 130 or 140 in terms of drowsiness... and let trucks drive at 80 or 90..."
While Mellinghof believes that the quality of Australian highways is up to scratch and could support higher speeds, he was critical of the way our armco barriers are built. In Germany the barriers start and finish in the ground, thus presenting a ramp of sorts, so any vehicle leaving the road will generally strike a glancing blow rather than a head-on strike with the leading post.
"The systems that work in Germany will also work in Australia," says Mellinghof, but he did also observe that Australian drivers do seem to tailgate more than drivers in Germany. This seems to indicate a lack of driver education, with road users apparently unaware of the danger this presents.
"In Australia, the people drive very close to each other, one after the other... the people don't realise how dangerous this is."
http://www.carsales.com.au/news/2010/mercedesbenz/benz-safety-guru-queries-aussie-road-design-22018
words - Ken Gratton (http://www.carsales.com.au/news-reviews-advice/results.aspx?N=2981+4294966552)
Speed limits are out of whack and armco is a potential killer, says Ullrich Mellinghoff
The Vice President of Development Safety for Mercedes-Benz, Ullrich Mellinghof (http://www.carsales.com.au/news/2009/mercedesbenz/fatalityfree-roads-a-realistic-target-16808), is currently in Australia as part of the prestige importer's travelling safety roadshow. Mellinghof has been accompanied on his trip to the antipodes by other safety experts and two advanced simulators to demonstrate the company's commitment to active and passive safety.
Subsequent to a presentation last week at the importer's Mulgrave HQ, Mellinghof was asked by local media for his opinion on the issue of road safety in Australia, based admittedly on a brief exposure (one week) to the best and worst of the local road network.
"I was a little bit surprised about two things; first: you have very restricted speed limit on highways [and] on the other [hand], in the city or urban areas you can drive very often [at] 70 or 80km/h, although there are a lot of people living around [those areas]. In Germany we have a maximum of 60km/h -- normally 50km/h. This was a little bit surprising for me.
"Second, I think that what is not so easy to handle is that trucks are allowed to drive at the same speed [as] passenger cars, although we know that trucks need -- from 80 to 0 -- the same length in braking as a passenger car from 120 to 0. So I think it would be helpful if there was a differentiation..."
The Carsales Network asked whether speed differentiation could pose a problem, with vehicles travelling at vastly different speeds mixing it up on the same roads. In Australia, without major changes to driver education, it could create more problems than it would resolve. Mellinghof, based on his experience in Germany, doesn't believe that speed differentiation need be a problem, but by implication, for the German strategy to be transplanted here would require some heavy-handed policing in the early years. Ensuring that drivers do keep left and fining them if they don't, for example, or changing the rules of the road to permit overtaking on just one side -- the right side in Australia.
"I don't think that it is indeed a big problem, because in Germany it's not allowed to pass other cars on both sides -- you always have to pass on the left side. This divides the traffic more or less -- the faster driving on the left side and the slower [cars] driving on the right side. Therefore, I think it can be handled, this speed difference."
The Benz exec holds the view that on our much longer freeways -- between capital cities -- the roads are good enough to warrant a speed limit as high as 140km/h, which could reduce fatigue considerably, with a consequent reduction in single-vehicle crashes.
"Maybe a top speed of 200 is not necessary, but... it's better to drive at 130 or 140 in terms of drowsiness... and let trucks drive at 80 or 90..."
While Mellinghof believes that the quality of Australian highways is up to scratch and could support higher speeds, he was critical of the way our armco barriers are built. In Germany the barriers start and finish in the ground, thus presenting a ramp of sorts, so any vehicle leaving the road will generally strike a glancing blow rather than a head-on strike with the leading post.
"The systems that work in Germany will also work in Australia," says Mellinghof, but he did also observe that Australian drivers do seem to tailgate more than drivers in Germany. This seems to indicate a lack of driver education, with road users apparently unaware of the danger this presents.
"In Australia, the people drive very close to each other, one after the other... the people don't realise how dangerous this is."
http://www.carsales.com.au/news/2010/mercedesbenz/benz-safety-guru-queries-aussie-road-design-22018