Bonn speed controls 7,096 traffic violations in four weeks
BAD GODESBERG · The city is attempting to reduce the amount of speeders by putting more long term radar cameras into use. New stationary radar controls in Pennenfeld have proven successful.
A visit to lovely Bad Godesberg is always worth it. But drivers, especially those from outside of Bonn are best advised to use caution. On a stretch of about three kilometers, there are approximately seven radar controls, three in the direction of Bonn and four heading towards Remagen. In addition to the radars in the Godesberg tunnel (two in each direction) and the two relatively new controls on the small bridge over the rail tracks in Pennenfeld, there is now also a long term portable radar in the mix. In September, it was located on Remagener Straße in the direction of Bonn, and now it has switched street sides.
Why does the city insist on engaging yet another camera? Günter Dick, head of Public Services in Bonn explains that it is necessary to control speeders in areas where the temporary portable radars don’t work or haven’t proven effective in reducing the number of speeders. The city administration will use the long term portable radar controls in a test phase for six months within Bonn city limits.
What do the statistics look like? On Remagener Straße towards Bonn, 1,819 speeding violations were incurred between September 14 and 30. In comparison, for the whole month of September, there were 608 violations on the bridge over Pennenfeld heading towards Bonn, and 1,384 in the opposite direction. In the Godesberg tunnel in the direction towards Bonn, there were 1,478 speeding violations and in the opposite direction 1,807 violations.
When asked if drivers faced two fines if they were zapped by both radars in the Godesberg tunnel at once, the city could not answer directly, saying there were many criteria considered and proofed in each case. A driver who was speeding through the tunnel at 121 kilometers per hour (71 km/h over the speed limit) had to pay 680 euros, was forbidden to drive for three months, and received two points on the driving record.
Günter Dick says the number of violations has declined since the implementation of radar cameras at various locations. The goal of the operation, especially in the tunnel, is to slow down drivers to prevent serious accidents with subsequent fires. One cause for accidents in the tunnel is dangerous passing maneuvers. The Pennenfeld bridge over the train tracks was prone to accidents in spite of temporary mobile radars, which led to the installation of stationary radar cameras. Since then, the number of accidents in that area has also decreased and its accident-prone status was retracted, which Dick describes as a success. (Orig. text: Silke Elbern, Translation: Geena Kloeppel)
