ANSBACH, Germany (March 14, 2013) -- Automobile mishaps come in all shapes and sizes: A driver is caught speeding, they get into a minor fender bender or something serious happens.
U.S. Army Garrison Ansbach is spread over several kasernes in and around the Ansbach area, and its residents usually by necessity spend time driving between the different kasernes. Because of this normal road usage, the garrison's safety office has noticed several trouble spots out and about that could cause various vehicular vexations, if not downright dangers.
Manfred Meyer, garrison safety specialist, is acquainted with many of these trouble spots. One congregation of trouble spots is through the small village of Untereichenbach, the road through which leads to the back gate of Katterbach Kaserne. The road leading into the town from the west has a dangerous blind curve, there is a dangerous T-intersection at the east end of town, and the road through town is extremely narrow.
"This little village has a two-way road," said Meyer. "There's no sidewalks usually on one side, and the road is still narrow. When the big buses or the trucks come through with the oncoming traffic, then there's a real problem."
When faced with the oncoming trucks and buses, vehicles are better off pulling to the shoulder and sometimes onto the curb and simply stopping so the mechanical behemoths can pass.
"Even 30 kilometers is too fast for the conditions here," added Meyer. "This little village has its rush hours like a big city, but also actually it's during the entire day you can find traffic jams. This little village is just not made for this massive amount of traffic. It's a shortcut, and a lot of people use it as a shortcut."
The other potential accident area is at the T-intersection at the east end of Untereichenbach. Cars making left turns from the throughway onto the adjoining road typically make shallow left turns. This can be a problem because a fence, tree and stack of firewood block the view of any cars that are stopped on the adjoining road. When the driver making a left onto the adjoining road sees another car already on the adjoining road, it can be too late.
Another trouble spot is in between Bismarck and Katterbach kasernes on B14.
"A lot of people think that stretch of road between the two installations is a federal highway," said Meyer. "Actually it's a 50-kilometer zone only because you have on both sides the village sign for Katterbach, and that's an indicator that 50 kilometers is the maximum speed."
Speed limits, according to the safety office, are also a problem driving into Ansbach on B14 from the northeast. Gravity naturally pulls a vehicle to accelerate downhill on B14 toward Ansbach. Several traffic signs indicating the speed limit flit by quickly: first a sign for 80 kilometers per hour, then a sign for 60 kph. When the driver passes the city limit sign, the speed limit has dropped yet again to 50 kilometers per hour. If a driver does not pay attention they might be going too fast through town.
On the roads in the Storck Barracks and Franken Kaserne areas, there are other potentially fatal areas.
"The road leading to Bad Windsheim, that is a very busy, heavily traveled road," said Meyer. "We had several accidents, and unfortunately we had also some fatal accidents on that road."
Close to Storck Barracks there is a road that is intended solely for use by agricultural and military vehicles. Often Americans will not be aware of this because they might not be able to read the sign. The sign says, "Land- und forstwirtsch Verkehr frei" and "militärfahrzeuge frei," which translate to "farm and forestry traffic only" and "military vehicles only." Use of this road by personally owned vehicles has resulted in accidents and death.
"It's called the Tank Road," said Meyer. "It's a road that's not really allowed for POVs. It is only for military trucks, and people tend to ignore all these signs that are posted there. It's obvious if you read the signs that this is for military vehicles only. And people still go both ways, and that's another hotspot for accidents."
On B13 connecting the kasernes at Ansbach with Storck Barracks in Illesheim, there is another major safety hazard on a steep decline heading northwest.
"There was a fatal accident, a motorcyclist," said Meyer. "He lost control of the motorcycle. He was going too fast for conditions and he lost control. He fell off the bike. There're so many sandboxes on that hill for the wintertime, and he hit one of those sandboxes and he died."
One of the major reasons the hill causes problems is the difference of elevation from the crest to the valley.
"During the wintertime, there's a big difference in climate. That hill, it's probably a couple of hundred meters, and down in the valley, it's completely different from up on the hill, the climate, and the road conditions. If you drive up the hill, it may be wintertime when you get up there, snow-covered and ice-covered, while down in the valley it is not a problem for drivers."
These are only a few of the dangerous spots in and around USAG Ansbach. There are many others. Drivers can avoid many problems by maintaining situational awareness, driving defensively and obeying German driving laws and road signs.
To refresh your knowledge of German traffic laws, visit www.imcom-europe.army.mil/webs/sites/staff_org/safety/driver_training/index.html.
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