From January 1st, 2012 to December 31st, 2016, the Federal Government of Germany has conducted a nationwide field test with longer trucks. The statutory basis required for the use of longer trucks was provided through the Regulation on Exceptions from Traffic Law Regulations for Long Vehicles and Vehicle Combinations (LKWÜberlStVAusnV). The regulation is updated regularly and comprises the admissible combinations of longer trucks and the positively tested road network. The field test has shown that longer trucks perform well on the tested road network (positive network). Challenges are shorter emergency stop bays in tunnels and parking stands at rest areas. With the 8th amendment of the regulation from December 28th, 2017, so far 15 federal states have approved routes for longer trucks. The testing and approval of routes for the positive network is the responsibility of the national transport authorities. They have to assess the trafficability of traffic facilities. For this reason in this subproject, the federal states were asked about their experiences with the route inspection for longer trucks. The survey included facts about the vehicle geometry verification, road safety issues in connection with long trucks and relevant traffic facilities for a route inspection. The definition of representative design vehicles for types 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 is decisive for the investigations. Type 1 occupies a special position in this study. Type 1 is 17,80 m long and thus shorter than a conventional articulated train. Due to its large overhangs it has larger tractrix curves than conventional trucks. Type 2 covers the remaining long trucks (type 3, 4 and 5) regarding their frequency of occurrence and their tractrix curves. This means that types 3, 4 and 5 are either fairly rare (type 4) or have much smaller tractrix curves than type 2. Using these two design vehicles, selected traffic facilities were checked by geometric measurements. The results show which minimum dimensions of traffic facilities can be used by long trucks and where a case-by-case examination is necessary. All findings are integrated into a separate action guide, which serves as a decision aid for the review of requested longer trucks routes. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting