Start of the motorcycle season in Hesse: It should now be safer for bikers

Created: 04/13/2022Updated: 04/13/2022, 8:25 p.m

By: Kim Hornickel

The temperatures are climbing over 20 degrees and the first motorcyclists are back on the roads in Hesse.

(Iconic image) © Arnulf Hettrich/Imago

The motorcycle season in Hesse starts, but with the driving pleasure, the number of traffic accidents increases.

Hessen Mobil is rebuilding so that fewer accidents end fatally.

Hesse – Motorcyclists roar over the winding roads of the Rhön.

High up to the Wasserkuppe, past Point Alpha and the Kreuzberg monastery, and then stop off in beer gardens and biker hotels for a rest: The motorcycle season in Hesse* will open on May 1st - at least wherever bikers have free rides* .

To ensure that the first motorcycle tour of the year is not only beautiful, but also safe, the Hessen Mobil traffic authority is upgrading and investing in many places.

Because at the beginning of the motorcycle season in Hesse, not everyone is back in the saddle and accidents are more common, especially in spring, as the General German Automobile Club (ADAC) warns.

Insecure or inexperienced drivers in particular should follow the safety tips after the winter break*.

Motorists, who first have to get used to two-wheelers again, cause the number of accidents to skyrocket.

Hessen Mobil plans for more safety: New road pavement will help motorcyclists in particular

When a collision occurs or a motorcyclist simply loses control of their bike, roadside posts and signs become deadly obstacles.

Hessen Mobil wants to change that and presents two countermeasures that should be found more frequently on the motorcycle routes in the state in the future.

Here is the overview:

• More safety on the roads

• The underrun protection

  closes the gap between the floor and the crash barrier and consists of an underrun protection bar that yields in the event of an impact.

  If a motorcyclist slides across the road, the underride guard prevents the casualty from colliding directly with the posts of the crash barrier frame.

  The protection has so far been installed on 470 curves (28,000 meters of road) on federal and state roads with an increased number of motorcycles.

• Special

  curve guide panels

  made of plastic are also designed to absorb the force of an impact.

  Throughout the federal state, Hessen Mobil has already replaced 132 old metal curve signs on federal roads and 353 on country roads with the flexible plastic version.

And Hessen Mobil President Heiko Durth promises further innovations for Hessian motorcyclists.

"At the start of the motorcycle season this year, we are focusing in particular on safety on the winding motorcycle routes in Hesse's low mountain ranges." Fewer accidents and more safety for motorcyclists, that is the goal, according to Hessen Mobil.

Number of motorcycle cases in Hesse in 2021 declining

Recently, the number of accidents has been declining.

In 2021, the number of registered accidents involving motorcyclists fell by almost 12 percent to a total of 3161 cases, explained Hessen Mobil.

And the statistics from the road traffic authority show another trend that gives hope: the number of fatally injured bikers fell by a third in 2021.

(kh)