GPS instead of road signs: How municipalities are struggling with traffic

Whoever is traveling by car usually relies on navigation software - sometimes even if it contradicts the road signs. This has drastic consequences for some municipalities in Saxony and Thuringia and can lead to traffic chaos.

Jürgen Arlt can tell you a thing or two about it: Since 2015, he has been mayor of the small town of Weißenberg in Upper Lusatia, directly on the A4 highway. For years, the small community of 3,000 inhabitants suffered from an absurd volume of traffic - directly across the smartly paved market square, past the historic town hall. "We had a senior citizen here who meticulously counted the traffic herself. She came up with 3,000 vehicles a day that drove on this narrow street," says Arlt, who is not a party member.

When trucks ram the town hall gable

The reason: navigation software such as Google Maps. Because the main feeder road to the freeway, the B178, has not been completed for many years and only starts five kilometers away from the freeway, trucks and cars have to take other routes.

Despite an existing bypass, Google Maps & Co. route the traffic right through the middle of little Weißenberg. And that has consequences - for the historic town hall, for example. "At least four or five trucks have driven past it and damaged the roof every time," says Arlt. There have also been accidents due to a blind bend, and walls have been damaged. In addition, the mayor believes that the road has become "impassable" for cyclists.

If signs are permanently ignored, it is the responsibility of the relevant authorities to take appropriate measures, the State Office for Road Construction and Transport explained to the German Press Agency. In concrete terms, this means that checks, structural adjustments or changes to traffic regulations such as speed limits would be necessary. What sounds simple in theory, however, encounters difficulties in practice, as the mayor knows. A speed limit of 20 km/h on part of the busy state road failed due to the responsible traffic authority. And a one-way street regulation is unsuitable due to emergency routes and waste collection.

Random call brings relief

On request, Google says that the company invites users to use reporting tools in such cases. "The Geo Data Upload Tool is available to public bodies and institutions," a Google spokesperson told the German Press Agency.

Mayor Arlt only found out that this option was available by chance during a phone call with a Google employee. After he made such a report, a Google vehicle drove the route on site. Since then, the problem has at least improved and the route is suggested less frequently.

The Thuringian State Office for Construction and Transport is not aware of any demonstrable problems with the "misuse" of roads. In principle, the entire public road network is available to road users.

Oberdorla in the Unstrut-Hainich district also has problems

For the residents of Oberdorla, a district of the municipality of Vogtei in the Unstrut-Hainich district, this is a painful experience. For years, cars and trucks have been using the much too narrow Mühlhäuser Straße in the Oberdorla district as a shortcut to avoid nearby Mühlhausen.

Around 3,000 vehicles use it every day, says Thomas Golebniak, the non-party mayor of the municipality. The road is so narrow, especially in one bend, that some of the vehicles drive over the footpath - a real danger for residents. For around one and a half years, there have also been repeated bursts of water pipes - due to the traffic, Golebniak is convinced. There is also damage to facades, lampposts and the footpath. Many of those driving through are familiar with the area. However, navigation software also repeatedly misdirects vehicles around the town. As a result, the signage has already had to be changed in other places.

A probable compromise between the municipality and the state road construction authority now promises light on the horizon - because it is a state road. A one-way street regulation is therefore conceivable. A bypass would then need to be built for the opposite direction. A meeting is due to take place in November - because the road and the underlying pipes are in urgent need of renovation.

Golebniak is hoping for this solution. In the mayor's view, renewing the road at a cost of millions without changing the traffic regulations would be "an economic and psychological crime".