Debate in the town hall: Mayor scolds seniors "sneakers" - do they provoke accidents?
Created: 05/25/2022, 11:42 am
By: Felix Herz
Debate about seniors on the road: Do they provoke accidents by driving slowly?
(Icon image) © YAY Images / IMAGO
When the accident statistics were presented in the Maxhütte City Hall, a debate erupted about senior citizens driving too slowly, who allegedly caused accidents.
Burglengenfeld – The accident statistics recently presented by police commissioner Stefan Hannig in Burglengenfeld town hall triggered a heated discussion.
Right in the middle: Thomas Beer (CSU), mayor of the neighboring town of Teublitz.
He is annoyed by the slow-moving seniors who would provoke risky overtaking manoeuvres, according to
nordbayern.de
.
According to the accident statistics for the entire Upper Palatinate, there were also more accidents in 2021 than in the previous year.
With 14,606 accidents, that is 8.4 percent more than in 2020, writes
otv.de
in relation to the information provided by Police Vice President Thomas Schönig at the Oberpfalz Police Headquarters.
What is striking here is the 21.7 percent increase in speed accidents.
In Bavaria on Tuesday, May 24, there was a serious accident in heavy rain - the car rolled over several times.
Accident statistics spark debate: between slow seniors and hotshot youngsters
According to Hannig, 757 accidents were recorded in the Burglengenfeld police inspection area in 2021, writes
mittelbayerische.de
.
In only 34 of 176 serious accidents were young people between the ages of 18 and 24 years of age, the supposedly risk-taking firecrackers, the cause.
The supposedly more experienced drivers caused a serious accident much more often: the age group 45 to 64 is responsible for 56 accidents.
The over 65-year-olds are more often to blame than the younger generation.
At the same time, Hannig points out the inadequacies of the statistics.
The age groups are different in size, and they also ignore the percentage of drivers in each age group.
The mayor of Teublitz, Thomas Beer, nevertheless uses the opportunity and criticizes senior citizens who drive too slowly, which would provoke risky overtaking manoeuvres, according to
nordbayern.de
.
(By the way: Our brand new Regensburg newsletter will keep you regularly informed about all the important stories from the World Heritage city and the Upper Palatinate. Register here.)
Debate in the town hall: Who is to blame for the accidents?
Especially on the route between Burglengenfeld and Teublitz, Beer keeps wondering why the speed outside of the towns is only 60 km/h.
This is dangerous because it tempts other drivers to risky overtaking manoeuvres, explained the 54-year-old.
So, do you do something against the “sneakies”?
Hannig affirmed that there is a fine for significantly undercutting the permitted speed – but these offenses would be in the single digits every year, writes
mittelbayerische.de
.
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Beer also received objections from Burglengenfeld's second mayor, Josef Gruber (CSU): It was not the slow drivers who were to blame for accidents after risky overtaking maneuvers, but rather the drivers who misjudged themselves when overtaking.
In addition, you have to be considerate of older people on the road, they are dependent on the car in rural areas.
Beer agreed and, according to
mittelbayerische.de
, underlined that he did not want to revoke anyone's driver's license - but that the children of older drivers should also honestly assess their ability to drive.
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