Driving ban canceled: cyclists can finally roll again!

Driving ban canceled: cyclists can finally roll again!

In a pleasant step for cyclists in Segeberg, Hans-Jürgen Maass, the district cycling officer, and district administrator Jan Peter Schröder have reached an agreement at a meeting on the bike path between Fahrenkrug and Segeberg Strasse (Kreisstraße 102). The district administrator has agreed to make changes to the existing regulations for using the bike path. So far, cyclists have had to push the bike path because a construction fence was considered a security risk. The fence was built up free of charge by red crossers and refugees from the initial reception facility in the Levo-Park.

The arrangement of a cycling ban on the route had caused unrest, since signs were set up with the inscription "Delete cyclists". Maass checked the situation on site and ensured that the fence was improved, with adjustments for trash cans and extinguishing hydrants. A letter written by Maass with arguments against the driving ban then led to the local appointment with District Administrator Schröder. At the end of the meeting it was assured that the sign "Del off the cyclists" is removed, which allows cyclists to drive on the bike path again. Maass expressed relief about this decision.

safety in cycling

The need to improve safety in cycling is also emphasized by the German Transport Safety Council. It is found that the number of cyclists killed has remained constant since 2010 and that the number of seriously injured cyclists have been almost unchanged since 2001. Every eighth killed and every fifth injured on German roads is a cyclist. The statistics also show an increase in injuries among pedelec users, while the paragraph of pedelecs has increased by more than 75 % between 2013 and 2017.

In 2017, 382 cyclists died on German roads, 68 of them on a pedelec. Around 90 % of all wheel accidents with personal damage occur in the inner -city area. The importance of an improved infrastructure is pointed out, since many accidents are particularly important at intersections and confluence. The introduction of technical regulations for safe cycling systems is considered necessary to increase the safety of cyclists.

The steadily increasing numbers of accident -participated cyclists and the development of cycling underline the urgency of measures to improve cycling safety. The federal government, the federal states and municipalities are asked to take the appropriate steps in order to tackle the necessary changes in the transport infrastructure.

For further information on security aspects in cycling and planned measures, see ln-online.de and dvr.de.