Polish tourists killed in coach crash near Berlin
 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010...d-crash-berlin

> At least 12 people were killed and dozens injured today when a bus carrying Polish tourists crashed on the motorway south-east of Berlin, police said.

What was that very-important rule of driving? Merging traffic must
yield to the traffic that is already on the roadway!

> Feuring said authorities believed the bus, carrying 49 Poles on their way home from a holiday in Spain, crashed into a car merging on to the highway before hitting an overpass pylon. The merging car's 37-year-old driver was among the injured, he said.

No, no, no! Wrong!

I am absolutely infuriated, especially considering the close proximity
of this incident to the home of my family. The local news station
reported that the merging car was a Mercedes which was being driven by a
female owner. This collision may have actually been caused by one of
the merge-impaired Sloths that I have encountered in the recent past.

If you are on the merge lane and you determine that you cannot safely
enter the roadway, you must stop and wait! You may not continue driving
and hope that somebody brakes in order to "let you in" while
interrupting the flow of traffic.

I eagerly await the news that the Mercedes had experienced a severe
mechanical failure at the moment of the merge, or that some unusual
road-surface hazard or medical emergency had caused the Mercedes driver
to crash, and that this collision was actually an unavoidable accident.

Polish tourists killed in coach crash near Berlin
 

Alexander Rogge > wrote:

>http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010...d-crash-berlin

>> At least 12 people were killed and dozens injured today when a
>> bus carrying Polish tourists crashed on the motorway south-east
>> of Berlin, police said.

>What was that very-important rule of driving? Merging traffic must
>yield to the traffic that is already on the roadway!

Not in Germany.

When merging, everybody gives way in a 1-for-1 manner.
StVO, § 7 Abs. 4
(4) Ist auf Straßen mit mehreren Fahrstreifen für eine
Richtung das durchgehende Befahren eines Fahrstreifens nicht
möglich oder endet ein Fahrstreifen, so ist den am
Weiterfahren gehinderten Fahrzeugen der Übergang auf den
benachbarten Fahrstreifen in der Weise zu ermöglichen, daß
sich diese Fahrzeuge unmittelbar vor der Verengung jeweils
im Wechsel nach einem auf dem durchgehenden Fahrstreifen
fahrenden Fahrzeug einordnen können (Reißverschlußverfahren).

Rough translation:
If on roads with more than one lane in the same direction,
one of the lanes can no longer be used or ends, it is
required that the obstructed vehicles be enabled to change to
an adjacent lane immediately prior to the obstruction in a
one-for-one manner with traffic in the continuing lane.
(Zipper fashion).

i.e. it is the responsibility of drivers in the continuing lane to
enable merging and for those whose lane endsor is obstructed, to
allow alternate vehicles from continuing traffic to me mixed in.

>> Feuring said authorities believed the bus, carrying 49 Poles on
>> their way home from a holiday in Spain, crashed into a car
>> merging on to the highway before hitting an overpass pylon. The
>> merging car's 37-year-old driver was among the injured, he said.

>No, no, no! Wrong!

>I am absolutely infuriated, especially considering the close proximity
>of this incident to the home of my family. The local news station
>reported that the merging car was a Mercedes which was being driven by a
>female owner. This collision may have actually been caused by one of
>the merge-impaired Sloths that I have encountered in the recent past.

The CAUSE has yet not been determined. It was raining; which always
affects visibility. Even on Sundays.

Police are still investigating.

Local report (in German)
<http://www.rbb-online.de/fernsehen/beitrag/schweres_busunglueck.html>

>If you are on the merge lane and you determine that you cannot safely
>enter the roadway, you must stop and wait! You may not continue driving
>and hope that somebody brakes in order to "let you in" while
>interrupting the flow of traffic.

Which section of the StVO says that?

You will probably find that, if you come to a stop on the Autobahn
at the end of the merge lane, that the Autobahnpolizei will be along
shortly to assist in the appropriate manner. It never seems more
than 15 to 20 minutes between one of them passing a particular point
on the main sections.
--
/"\ Bernd Felsche - Innovative Reckoning, Perth, Western Australia
\ / ASCII ribbon campaign | For every complex problem there is an
X against HTML mail | answer that is clear, simple, and wrong.
/ \ and postings | --HL Mencken

Polish tourists killed in coach crash near Berlin
 

On Sep 27, 4:24*am, Alexander Rogge > wrote:
> http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010...ists-killed-cr...
>
> > At least 12 people were killed and dozens injured today when a bus carrying Polish tourists crashed on the motorway south-east of Berlin, police said.
>
> What was that very-important rule of driving? *Merging traffic must
> yield to the traffic that is already on the roadway!

Wrong.

> I am absolutely infuriated,

Do tell.
-----

- gpsman

Polish tourists killed in coach crash near Berlin
 

Bernd Felsche wrote:
>> Merging traffic must
>> yield to the traffic that is already on the roadway!
>
> Not in Germany.
>
> When merging, everybody gives way in a 1-for-1 manner.
> StVO, § 7 Abs. 4
>
> Rough translation:
> If on roads with more than one lane in the same direction,
> one of the lanes can no longer be used or ends, it is
> required that the obstructed vehicles be enabled to change to
> an adjacent lane immediately prior to the obstruction in a
> one-for-one manner with traffic in the continuing lane.
> (Zipper fashion).

The problem usually begins when the merger fails to yield in the first
place, at the start of the acceleration lane. The merger should plan a
safe merge instead of obligating the drivers on the roadway to "let him
in" as a result of bad planning. I have no objection to the Zipper
Method rule, when the continuation of a safe merge has been obstructed
unreasonably, and without some accommodation the possibility of a
collision is increased. This problem often occurs during conditions of
lane-closures around construction zones, during conditions of bad
weather which have resulted in an unexpected obstruction to the traffic
in a lane, and during conditions of congested traffic.

> You will probably find that, if you come to a stop on the Autobahn
> at the end of the merge lane, that the Autobahnpolizei will be along
> shortly to assist in the appropriate manner.

I agree, but who is tagged? The merger is tagged, not the traffic on
the roadway for failing to "let in" the merger. These merge-impaired
drivers will sometimes match speeds with a vehicle on the roadway until
they arrive at the Gore Point, and then the merger assumes that
everybody else should swerve or brake. No, that's not correct. I have
also seen some drivers attempt this behaviour around buses and other
large vehicles. There may be a gigantic gap in front of the large
vehicle on the roadway, a vehicle which is moving at a very moderate
speed, but the merger refuses to accelerate into the gap. If that was
the intention, the merger should have planned to move behind the vehicle
that was on the roadway.

It is this concept of yielding to the traffic with the right-of-way
while using effective planning, and concerning oneself with the drivers
who are behind you, that makes driving very safe and efficient. The
opposite of this concept is Me First, while imposing a cost onto
everybody else.

If I am on the merge lane and I see a bus approaching closely, I will
accelerate to place myself at a safe distance in front of that bus
before attempting to merge. Doing this deters the possibility that I
will interfere with the path of the bus, and the bus driver cannot
accelerate such that my merge would be obstructed. If I cannot see what
is ahead of the bus because of weather conditions, and so I cannot
determine if there is a safe distance in front of the bus, I will plan
to merge behind the bus. I will not continue accelerating down the
merge lane while hoping that somebody will brake for me, and then swerve
onto the roadway when my merge lane has ended.

I would hope that such Me First behaviour was not the cause of this
deadly collision.