STUTTGART (dpa) – No one appreciates them and they always seem to crop up at the most inconvenient moments. However, as things stand, they seem unavoidable. Traffic jams are probably at the top of the league of irritations on the roads. Every car driver tries to avoid them wherever possible. All the same, everyone shares a little bit of the blame for the fact they occur. Because daily bottlenecks can’t be avoided altogether, a few tips can at least help to make the best of it when your four wheels are brought to a standstill.
As a matter of principle, you should always try to avoid contributing to a traffic jam yourself. It can help, for example, to study the traffic forecasts before you head off, and not become just another speck in the sea of metal clogging up the roads. “In heavy traffic especially, it can be important to drive according to the conditions, while all the time looking ahead. Rapid acceleration and abrupt braking are deadly to the even flow of traffic,” says Rainer Hillgärtner of the Auto Club Europa (ACE) in Stuttgart.
Then there are a few obvious things which people seem to deliberately overlook. The left-hand lane of the autobahn is only there for overtaking. Anyone about to leave the autobahn should move to the right-hand lane in good time so as to avoid any problems arising through hazardous lane changes. And you really don’t have to join the mass of waiting cars if you hear about a hold-up on the radio: “People who know an area well can find it pays to leave the autobahn before tailbacks of more than five kilometres and so drive around the jam,” advises Eckart Dyckerhoff, traffic engineer at the ADAC, Germany’s largest motoring organisation, in Munich.
There are moments, however, when all the foresight in the world can’t prevent the car coming to a halt in a jam. When this happens, Rainer Hessel, director of the German Traffic Watch (DVW) in Meckenheim near Bonn, counsels motorists to first switch on their hazard lights to warn following vehicles.
Approaching a tailback requires particular attention, too. You must ensure you come to a halt safely while keeping the vehicles following you in mind. Experts advise drivers to leave a relatively large space behind the next vehicle, as this leaves an “escape” if the person behind fails to react quickly enough.
More care is needed if the flow comes to a complete halt. Eckart Dyckerhoff points out that although getting out of the car on the autobahn is forbidden, a fine is not likely in a jam: “It’s mostly accepted.” If you do get out to stretch your legs, watch out for motorcyclists trying to edge forward through the queue. If the deadlock takes longer to clear, it generally pays to turn to turn the engine off – both because of consumption and for the sake of the environment. Dyckerhoff says that it’s worth it after just 30 or 40 seconds.
Care must also be taken that the emergency services can get through even in a jam. “On two-lane autobahns, a centre strip between the lanes must be kept clear. On three-lane roads it’s the middle lane and where four lanes are open, it’s also in the centre,” explains Rainer Hessel.
Once the caravan starts slowly moving again, a safe distance must still be kept. If it’s too small, there’s a danger of running into the car in front; if there’s too much place, the jam will take longer to clear. Finally, it’s usually not worth swapping lanes just because another slow-moving lane suddenly speeds up slightly: “You only gain seconds,” says Hessel. “On the other hand, it’s also prone to cause more delays.”
Discipline is also called for when the jam is caused by several lanes merging into one. The “zip principle” is best used here. According to the ACE, people who stick to their lane right up to the closure are not road hogs but are only following the rules.
Once the worst is over, the newly-won freedom should not be exploited by putting your foot down and shaking off your frustration. “This kind of driving only increases the risk of an accident,” warns Rainer Hessel. And when push comes to shove, the next jam is only a matter of time.
