Published: 18 Nov 12 10:01 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/national/20121118-46231.html
Six people were killed and two injured on Sunday morning in a four-car autobahn pile-up in southern Germany. Police said the crash was probably caused by a car going the wrong direction.
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Your comments about this article:
However if you follow your argument to its logical end we will have to walk and preferably rapped in cotton wool, I also don't think it will be at the forefront in the forth coming election campaign.
The problem in the above case (condolences to the families) is a car driving the wrong way again there seems to be two possible conclusions ,first somebody committing suicide and killing innocents as well (resent case). Second and more likely somebody getting onto the autobahn by mistake ,this is all to easy to do on German roads as many drivers will know although not from personal experience and that when visibility is perfect ,the problem is naturally exasperated by darkness and poor visibility .
I don't know ,I think you are correct mainly but a old Volvo was built like a tank (used about the same fuel too) don't argue with one of those .
The human body does not fare well if it suffers an impact at more than 30 mph or quick deacelaration. So yes, speed does not kill stopping does, but everyone knows it is easier to stop from 100 km than 200 km, and if you are going to impact something an older car at 100 will be better than the best supper dupper at 200 km.
Driving faster does not mean less safe then driving slower. The faster people drive the more they focus on driving. When people drive slower they tend to focus less on driving more on music, phone, eating and reading. Mandating a limit that is below the natural average speed on a road leads to most people ignoring the limit; this tends to cause more accidents because of the speed difference between vehicles is greater. The age of a car does not mean it is not as safe to drive fast compared to a new vehicle. More important criteria is the design and engineering of the car. The suspension, brakes, tires center of gravity and the maintenance and care of these systems. An old well maintained Porsche 911 is allot safer to drive fast then a new Fiat Punto.
I suspect the authorities already know it's their road junction design but won't admit it because of the cost of re-modelling them all (and possibly legal action from families of victims suing because of road design faults).
Speed in itself does not casue accidents.
I can imagine it is people like SMART2012 who are the kind of people who think it is ok to sit in the middle lane, sipping a coffee whilst never looking in the mirror that are the real cause of all accidents.......