If you’re travelling to Germany over the coming months, you might be confronted with a traffic sign you probably won’t be able to interpret. And as it turns out, even most Germans don’t understand what it means.
Traffic signs are meant to be universal and yet, many countries and regions do have a couple of out-of-the-ordinary designs. However, mostly they are easily interpreted by those living in the country, contrary to the mysterious German traffic sign we’re talking about.
All in all, the black-and-white coloured sign can be found thirteen times throughout Germany, according to the Dutch newspaper AD. More precisely, you’ll be able to see them when driving on the A9 between München and Ingolstadt and on the A93 Holledau and Wolnzach.
One might think an unknown traffic sign would potentially cause dangerous situations on the road but as it turns out, you don’t need to worry about that in this case. The signs are meant as a reference point for self-driving cars, allowing to determine their exact position on the road.
With self-driving cars potentially being part of our near future, Germany has pinpointed some so-called digital test zones on the A9 and A93. The reason why authorities have chosen those stretches of road is quite simple: they have all the criteria needed to judge the skills of those self-driving cars. Straight lines and curvy road stretches, hilly landscapes and multiple two-, three- and four-lane sections alternate each other.
Thanks to the special traffic signs, it is easy to determine the cars’ positions on the road and to compare test drives with one another. Germany has been testing self-driving cars since 2017 when the Act on Automated Driving entered into force.
Although self-driving cars aren’t publicly being used in Europe just yet, they have already been introduced in the United States. Waymo – owned by Alphabet, the company behind Google – already deploys self-driving taxis throughout the country and other companies are trying hard to develop their own models. Tesla owner Elon Musk has already expressed his wish to see self-driving vehicles on European roads by early 2025.
