Interview with Klaus Seuferling, AM Munich North
“There is no such thing as 100% security”
The Munich North highway maintenance department has been using rumble strips on its sections for several years now. This was the ideal opportunity to test our position-stable FRIKE rumble strips and the rumble strip handling machine. We asked Klaus Seuferling, head of the department, about his experiences and the effect of advance warning elements.
Mr. Seuferling, you have been using rumble strips for over ten years. This makes you an exception in Germany. Why do you use the rumble strips in your highway maintenance depot?
Klaus Seuferling: I am one of the biggest advocates of rumble strips. Since we started using rumble strips, we've only had one total loss in the last ten or twelve years. When I say total loss, I mean a truck that has been completely demolished. Previously, there were two per year on average. That alone shows that these rumble strips make absolute sense for stationary construction sites.
Rumble strips are one of the most effective advance warning elements. In Switzerland, they are even mandatory at highway construction sites. Why are they only rarely used in Germany?
Other maintenance teams do not use rumble strips, as they can only be inserted and removed manually. However, I disagree with this. When we lay them out by hand, we are only in the danger zone for two to three minutes. We are secured and pay close attention to the traffic. Afterwards, however, I stand stationary for two to three hours and am optimally protected with the deployed rumble strips and the safety vehicles.
With the FRIKE rumble strip handling machine, manual laying and insertion is now a thing of the past ...
Exactly. The FRIKE Rumble strip handling machine is a great thing. It disproves the arguments about unsafe insertion and retrieval. Especially in combination with the impact absorber, it is perfect. We have a lot of roadworks on the hard shoulder and heavy traffic drives past there. This is the most dangerous for us. Did you know that around two thirds of accidents happen in the HGV lane and on the hard shoulder? That's why I need a heavy-duty safety vehicle for maximum safety.
What was your experience with the FRIKE rumble strip handling machine and the position-stable rumble strips?
The experience was very interesting for us. As already mentioned, we have always had to deploy and collect the rumble strips by hand. With the Rumble strip handling machine, there are no more discussions about health and safety. I can now deploy and collect the sleepers automatically from the driver's cab in complete safety and no employee has to run around on the roadway. What's more, handling is simple and self-explanatory and the attachment can be mounted on another vehicle in just a few simple steps.
The FRIKE warning sleepers, on the other hand, have the advantage that they are more stable than conventional sleepers. This means that they do not slip when crossing and therefore ensure safety for both employees and road users.
You also address the safety of road users. Do you receive feedback from them?
In fact, a few years ago we had a truck driver near Ingoldstadt who had overlooked all the advance warning signals. He was finally shaken awake by the crossing of the strips and was able to react. He did make slight contact with a trailer, but a major accident was prevented. The driver then got out and thanked us. Without the rumble strips, it would probably have turned out worse.
This incident also shows how dangerous it is to work in traffic.
There is no such thing as 100 percent safety on the highway. That is a fact. As the responsible road manager, my top priority is to ensure that my employees return home safely in the evening. My job is therefore to make their workplace as safe as possible.
And it is safest for us if the road user has the opportunity to react. If they overlook all the advance warning signals because they are idling on their cell phone, the rumble strip will wake them up. We no longer have serious accidents since we started using them.
What do you say to those who say that work safety is far too expensive?
If an employee suffers permanent damage due to negligence in occupational safety, it costs millions. In a vehicle like the rumble strip handling machine, I have a protective cage around me. The consequences of an accident for the employee are much less severe. And this protection is worth every euro to me.
And that's why: if my employees were allowed to make one wish, it would be the same one I would have.
What would your wish be?
That we don't just get the FRIKE Rumble strip handling machine for a few weeks for testing, but that it is our vehicle.
Klaus Seuferling has been head of the Munich North freeway maintenance depot at Autobahn GmbH des Bundes for almost thirty years. His team of 40 employees is responsible for the road maintenance of the approximately 60-kilometer-long network of the A9 motorway between the Holledau and Schwabing interchanges and the A99 motorway between the München-Nord interchange and the Feldmoching interchange.
Interested?
Would you like to find out more about iCone, the FRIKE rumple strip handling machine or the FRIKE rumble strip?
We would be happy to advise you personally.
