European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 4, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 t4\icinlbij cover tory. A. A. A s&5 Gus Schuettler this autobahn stau has truck Drivers getting a leg up on the heat near Gern Shim Germany. From the cover civilian personnel office. A a Ackerman should know. In the 1 i years he commuted from Heidleberg to Stuttgart he got stuck in exp ifs Vay traffic at least twice a Day. Last fall a car dragging a Cabin Cruiser on a trailer Jackknife a and overturned next to a rest area blocking the westbound lanes on autobahn 6 near Heilbronn. The rest area offered a Detour so Ackerman was stuck Only five minutes. But it was enough time for two other accidents to happen in the blockade that grew behind him. Geoffrey o. Carter lives in Niernberg Germany. He drives 40 Miles North every Day to Bamberg where he works in marketing and Advertis ing for the army. Carter who has lived in the area for five years As a Soldier and one As a civilian figures he gets stuck in a Jam three or four times a week on autobahn 73. A i listen to German radio unless i lose reception. Then i put a tape on a he said. A i read bumper stickers look at the Clouds do anything to kill the  he even works dragging out a portable computer and typing on his Lap. There was also a vacation Jam two hours while driving to Diss Oldorf with his wife to visit her family. Anyone who travels european expressways frequently knows that traffic congestion is difficult to avoid but some regions arc worse than others. In the summer autobahn 8 Between Karlsruhe Germany and Salzburg Austria is one of the hardest hit routes according to Hart Mut Bergman spokesman for adar the German automobile club. Southbound motorists Forh Scandinavia Holland Belgium and Northern Germany encounter hardly any big Hills until they pass Karlsruhe. The weight of vacationers vehicles and the Drivers unfamiliarity with such terrain slows everybody  dead end dutchman Bergman recalled one dutch tourist whose trip went smoothly until he reached Pforzheim on autobahn 8. The hat Lander rounded a curve on the four Lane expressway with his car and camping trailer and found himself staring into the deepest Valley he had Ever contemplated driving through. Frightened that he might lose control of the trailer and become a latter Day flying dutchman he stopped at the Crest of the Hill. He walked to a Telephone and called adar for help in turning his vehicles around. The fact that a-8 offers Only two lanes in each direction in most places adds to the problem. Another problem no thanks to the Hills there arc fewer roads from which to choose than there Are in Northern or Central Germany. A from Stuttgart Onward there Arentt Many alternatives a Bergman said. While certain routes and seasons arc More prone to congestion than others traffic jams occur All Over Germany at All times of year. Wilhelm Leitzbach professor emeritus at the uni varsity of Karlsruhe a traffic Institute divides them into two categories a those that occur because the number of. Available lanes dwindles. A those that happen for no apparent reason. The first Type can happen because of construction or an Accident. Not just any Accident. Take last mondays crash on autobahn 7 near fixed land. A trailer carrying 36 beehives was hit from behind and tipped Over. The beehives smashed. Releasing some 700,000 bees and creating a mean Jam until the fire department Rode to the Rescue. A Jam might also occur when the Road Narrows because it was built that Way. A the Motorist can do Little More than try to avoid these Sites or to choose travel times at which experience suggests less traffic would be present a Leitzbach said. Bergman agreed suggesting that Long distance vacationers leave Home Early enough to avoid Rush hour traffic near Highway bottlenecks and any Large City. Leitzbach called the second Type of slowdown the a Jam out of  it occurs he said when cars travel along a Highway in a close column. Drivers May try to keep the distance separating them constant but they can to and it expands and contracts in an accordion style. Suddenly someone hits the brakes discovering he has come dangerously close to the car in front of him. Or a Driver changes lanes moving into a Laric that already is crowded. A then the person following him usually reacts in that he himself also Steps on the brakes to enlarge the following distance again a Leitzbach said. He explained that a Ripple effect of braking Drivers follows. That creates a Jam because either an Accident occurs or the line comes to a halt briefly. To avoid causing such delays Leitzbach said a Driver should avoid changing lanes while in heavy traffic. He also advised keeping a big Gap in front of your car. Water Vermeulen the . Military a chief licensing examiner in the Netherlands said traffic jams there Are like those in Germany but they May become More interesting when the country tries to adjust to Many traffic Law changes that take effect nov. 1. A the changes include a giving the person in a traffic Circle the right of Way. A allowing police to confiscate the vehicles of speeders who exceed the Speed limit by More than 50 Kilometres per hour 31 Mph. A allowing Drivers to pass on the right when the left lanes Are clogged. Ackerman Stuttgart a personnel specialist said he brings a cup of Coffee to drink while stuck in traffic. He sometimes opens his door to Cool off but he does no to get distracted any More than that. A if you re on the autobahn and you read a newspaper and you leave enough room five Guys will pull in front of you a he said. When he allowed that to happen Drivers behind him would shout at him or Cut him off. A a in be even had As much As people pull in front of me and step on the brakes a he said. That changed after the persian Gulf War. Ackerman said he has noticed that German Drivers give his .-plated car a wider berth. A a in be seen a great difference a he said. A people arc a lot More courteous than they were  Calvin l. Scott never has to worry about such matters even though he drives regularly from his Home near Stuttgart to Giessen and Munich. That a because As a Baptist minister on his Way to conduct services at . Military facilities he finds himself on the Road when most other people Are off it. A sunday morning a that a the Best time to travel if you re going somewhere a Scott said. When a Jam ends that a when danger begins Bergman said. A for the next five to 10 Kilometres you should be very watchful and very careful a Bergman said. He explained that Many Drivers May become reckless when they see open space before them. They could drive faster than usual to relieve frustration or compensate for lost  East drives into West German unification made German traffic unusually dangerous the traffic institutes Leitzbach said. When citizens from former East and West Germany won the right to visit each other freely in late 1989, the Accident Fate Rose dramatically and the fatality rate doubled he said. There were lots of reasons. Some inexperienced East German Drivers had just obtained their first cars. Flimsy East German cars with two Cycle engines mingled in traffic with heavier and faster Western european models. Also East germans who had been afraid to violate traffic Laws while living under the communist government sometimes overreacted to the looser enforcement of Western Law s asked what differences in driving habits travellers should keep in mind when touring Europe Leitzbach noted the German tendency to drive More aggressively than other europeans. A unfortunately a he said a your soldiers learn very quickly from the  a sunday August 4, 1991