Drachenburgstraße/B9 City doesn't consider Mehlem intersection dangerous

MEHLEM · There were four accidents last year at the intersection near the Mehlem train station, but the city doesn't find the crossing to be any more dangerous than other intersections. The decisive factor is how many accidents of the same type occur in one location.

In the immediate vicinity of the Mehlem railway station, where the B9, Drachenburgstraße and Mainzer Straße come together, the traffic situation is - to put it mildly - confusing. Although traffic lights regulate the traffic at the large intersection, there are always risky situations. On the one hand, it's due to the high volume of traffic with the route being used by cars and trucks as well as pedestrians and cyclists. On the other hand, it is the numerous turn-off lanes that cause confusion. A driver who wants to turn left coming from Lannesdorf towards Bad Godesberg, for example, can only see at a second glance whether he or she has to expect oncoming traffic or not, a driver reports.

But how dangerous is the crossing really? According to the city, it is not considered to be an accident hotspot. The accident commission, in which the city and the police are represented, determines whether an area qualifies as an accident hotspot or not. The decisive factor is how many accidents of the same type occur in the same location. Traffic volume is also taken into account. An example: If four accidents occur for the same reason at an intersection where more than 15,000 vehicles are on the road each day within one year, it is included in the list. "Although the intersection (in Mehlem) is very large and therefore somewhat confusing, there are no more accidents than usual," says the city press office. There is also no indication that the site will be designated as an accident hotspot in the foreseeable future.

Four accidents in 2018

In 2017 the police did not record any accidents at the intersection, but in 2018 there were four, two of them serious. In mid-December 2018, a 53-year-old pedestrian died when he was hit by a VW van. According to witnesses, he had crossed the intersection on a red light. Another pedestrian, a 26-year-old woman was killed at the end of September, 2018 when she was hit by a medical emergency vehicle after it collided with a taxi.

According to police, the exact circumstances of the accident have not yet been determined: "Our investigations have not yet been completed. Among other things, we are still waiting for an external accident assessment," police spokesman Simon Rott explained to General-Anzeiger on inquiry. An evaluation of vehicle instruments is expected to play a valuable role. The police hope that this will above all provide them with information on how quickly the vehicles were traveling, Rott explains.

In June, there was a rear-end collision in which one person was slightly injured. A pedestrian was also injured in February when, according to the police, he crossed the road on a red light and was hit by a car.

Orig. text: Ayla Jacob, Translation: ck

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