Highway
This traffic sign only exists 13 times in Germany – do you know the meaning?
Germany is known as a sign forest – and most traffic signs are learned in driving school. But there are rare exceptions that cause questions when driving past.
The rarest traffic sign in Germany only exists 13 times in total – and only on around 140 kilometers of motorway north of Munich. So it’s no wonder that hardly anyone knows the symbol and its meaning. Especially for tourists traveling on the A9 between Pfaffenhofen and Kreuz Holledau, the question quickly arises as to how to behave correctly.
The answer: you can ignore it. This is rarely the case in road traffic regulations, but it does happen. The so-called landmark signs, which have been set up at a distance of 2.5 kilometers along the A9, do not indicate any restrictions or rules.
The signs with the black and white pattern are part of the “Digital test field highway” (DTA), which was established in 2016. The pictogram serves as orientation for autonomous cars that are being tested there. The vehicles’ cameras can determine their position with centimeter precision using the landmark signs.
In 2016, when the signs were introduced, the then Federal Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt explained: “Automated and networked vehicles control the road with high precision. Together with state-of-the-art sensor technology and a centimeter-accurate digital map, the new signs are another building block on the way to the first fully digitalized and fully networked road.”
Strange and crazy traffic signs from all over the world – that’s what they mean
No, this sign does not mean that drunk drivers are common on this road – it indicates that the road can become slippery when wet.
© Panthermedia / Imago Images
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The Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs and Transport and the Federal Highway Research Institute (BASt) dedicate some of the test fields. Including one that shows where there are research projects like the DTA – currently as of August 2021. There are 26 test fields and 142 projects in Germany.
The “Digital test field highway” is used
The “Digital test field highway” is considered by the ministry “Technology-open offer for industry and research” advertised. According to his information, it turned out to be… “A nucleus for future developments has been established”. In a study commissioned by BASt last year, the DTA was considered a success.
Source: Stern
I’m a recent graduate of the University of Missouri with a degree in journalism. I started working as a news reporter for 24 Hours World about two years ago, and I’ve been writing articles ever since. My main focus is automotive news, but I’ve also written about politics, lifestyle, and entertainment.
