Skip to main content

Promising results from latest German speed enforcement marathon

During the sixth German speed control operation North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony, police found that motorists generally obeyed speed limits. Around 3,500 police officers and 300 employees of local authorities measured the speeds of vehicles over a period of 24 hours at 2,610 locations. Despite publication of the speed check points and the extensive coverage in the media across the country, 21,600 of the approximately 788,000, or 2.7 per cent, of car drivers checked were driving too fast. On a nor
May 21, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
During the sixth German speed control operation North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony, police found that motorists generally obeyed speed limits.

Around 3,500 police officers and 300 employees of local authorities measured the speeds of vehicles over a period of 24 hours at 2,610 locations. Despite publication of the speed check points and the extensive coverage in the media across the country, 21,600 of the approximately 788,000, or 2.7 per cent, of car drivers checked were driving too fast. On a normal day, around eight per cent of drivers are speeding.

Some glaring violations emerged, including two 18-year-old friends who ran a race during the night, driving through the 60 km/h speed check at 82 and 92 km/h. Cologne police also detected a driver at 141km/h in a speed limit of 70 km/h. On the A57 road near Krefel, where maximum speed of 100 km/h exists, a vehicle was measured at 200 km/h.

The initiative is part of the overall strategy of the police to improve road safety. In 2013, the police found more than two million drivers speeding.

After the large-scale speed control actions in North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony, Interior Minister Ralf Jäger said: “Motorists have taken the ‘I have respect for life’ motto to heart and are driving responsibly. That is our goal. We are adhering to our strategy of more speed checks and more transparency.”

Related Content

  • Half of passengers ‘would pay for better technology’
    August 2, 2013
    David Crawford considers the finding of a passenger attitude survey in nine cities worldwide. Three quarters of regular users of public transport in nine capital and other major cities worldwide believe that electronic ticketing would make travel easier; while an overwhelming 92% would welcome paperless travel in any form, according to a recent consumer survey from global management consultants Accenture. Of the 4,500 urban travellers aged over-18 who were quizzed, some 90% routinely used public transport.
  • Combining weight and speed violation detection with ANPR
    September 17, 2012
    UK company, CA Traffic has combined their Evo8 ANPR camera and Black Cat traffic monitoring technology to provide weigh in motion (WIM) and speed violation detection with high quality ANPR data. Both systems are configured with the local classification scheme, maximum road speed, vehicle speed and weight limits by class. Vehicle data (class, speed and weight) is sent from the Black Cat system to the EVo8, which checks for compliance with the data set for the road.
  • Cost Benefit: Utah traffic light scheme pays dividends
    March 15, 2019
    A traffic signal control scheme in Utah is being taken up by other US authorities. David Crawford finds out how the Beehive State is leading the way in DoT and driver savings Growing numbers of US state departments of transportation (DoTs) and their road users are gaining real financial benefits from an advanced approach to traffic signal monitoring recently developed in Utah. Central to the system is its use of automated traffic signal performance measures (ATSPM) technology, brought in to improve th
  • Traffic congestion rise in Europe a ‘sign of economic recovery’
    March 4, 2014
    A new report from leading traffic information and driver services provider Inrix shows traffic congestion in Europe rose in 2013 for the first time in two years. According to the 2013 annual Inrix Traffic Scorecard, traffic congestion across Europe increased approximately six per cent in the last three quarters of the year. The amount of time British drivers spent in traffic throughout the year has risen slightly, from 29 hours in 2012 to 30 hours in 2013. This puts the UK in sixth place in Europe, behi