A NEW GERMAN ROAD

Southland Times, Issue 22999, 19 September 1936, Page 19

A NEW GERMAN ROAD

The Autobahn SPEEDING WITHOUT DANGER Perfection in highway construction seems to have been reached in Germany, for on her newest road, the Autobahnen, there are no cyclists pedestrians or crossroads. The road is divided in the centre, and there is no fear of approaching traffic. Speeds of over 60 miles an hour create almost a feeling of boredom. The following is an interesting article written for The Daily Express, London, by Harold Pemberton, who gives an excellent idea of the Autobahn. He points out that the greatest danger is caused by the temptation to sleep. Here is a report of the conversation had with one of the builders of the great German motor road now completed from Frankfurt to Heidelberg, 50 miles. It was a high-speed conversation. The speedometer of Mr X the mystery English car, was fixed steadily on the 70 m.p.h. mark. The road builder sat by my side and his talk was a pleasant distraction. The driver on these roads has little enough to do. It takes a little time to get used to the idea that there can be no obstacles ahead. Nothing to Cross your Path. I found myself at first speeding round cars we were about to pass on

our track, expecting to find something coming in the opposite direction. This is impossible, for the up and down traffic is divided. Subconsciously the eye searched for careless walkers, for concealed cross-roads, and other obstacles. There are none, but it takes time for this fact to sink in. When you realize that nothing can cross your path except wild animals from the countryside, then driving becomes restful and after a bit monotonous.

“Do you have many accidents owing to high speed?” I asked the engineer. “No! We have a few accidents through drivers falling asleep. They even fall asleep at speeds of 60 miles an hour or more. A mile a minute is monotony.” I suppressed a yawn and released the accelerator pedal a shade to bring the needle down to 65 m.p.h.—just for a change. “Is there any cure for this?” I asked.

“In our later type of roads we are breaking up the horizon by slight inclines,” the engineer replied. “The driver’s vision ahead is slightly restricted. His mind is constantly wondering what is behind the horizon. We have also had a number of accidents through drivers using the hand throttle instead of the accelerator. They fix the the hand throttle wide open, become drowsy at the wheel, and then get in a complete muddle when they come to the end of the Autobahnen.

“These are the only types of accident recorded on this road. The number of accidents on the Autobahnen is very small compared with the ordinary main roads. Accidents to walkers and cyclists are impossible, because they are not allowed on the road.” Streamlined Bus.

During the run to Heidelberg we saw one of the new 60-mile-an-hour streamline State omnibuses glide past us on the down track. It does the 50 miles in 50 minutes dead. Its maximum possible speed is 70 miles an hour, but its average speed is limited by the authorities to 60'm.p.h. for the Autobohnen journey. If we had a similar road to Birmingham we could have motor omnibus services completing the journey in just under two hours. A motor omnibus journey to Scotland would take six hours 40 minutes.

Even the petrol filling stations have been speeded up on the Autobahnen. Instead of the old type pump, tanks are refilled by an electric system. The petrol attendant presses a button, and within a few seconds your tank is filled. The road builder asked me to stop the car near Frankfurt. He took us to a roadside memorial, and he and two other engineers stood by it with heads bared. It read: “The leader of the German people dug here the first spade of earth and gave the order to build these roads which will tell of the greatness of our time even after centuries have passed.” Then 700 men were engaged. To-day 150,000 men are employed on the Autobahnen and 250,000 on manufacturing the necessary building material