A road sign in the shape of a circle with black symbols on a white background has appeared in Germany. It is misleading even locals, not to mention foreign travelers and truck drivers from other countries.
So far, this sign has only been installed on the two most important autobahns in the country - on the A9 between Munich and Ingolstadt and on the A93 between Holledau and Wollnzach. In total, you can count 13 places where these signs are installed.
According to Travel Tomorrow, the sign does not impose any rules or restrictions on regular transport. The sign is called “Landmark Sign Digital Test Field Autobahn“ and is part of the “Digital Test Field on the Autobahn“ project launched in Germany.
The new road sign marks a section of the highway where driverless cars can be tested.
According to experts from the Ministry of Digital Technologies and Transport, such signs allow the autopilot to determine its exact location. The positioning is carried out with an accuracy of a few centimeters. It is a kind of beacon, a guide for autonomous vehicles.
The technology of the automated system of a driverless car passing by a sign with black triangles synchronizes with the navigation server at lightning speed. This improves the accuracy of navigation and the built-in autopilot orients itself better to the terrain.
Since driverless cars are potentially part of our near future, Germany has designated so-called digital test zones on the A9 and A93 highways. The reason for choosing these specific areas is simple: they have all the necessary criteria for assessing the skills of these unmanned vehicles.
First of all, these are straight and winding sections of roads, hilly landscapes and numerous alternating two-, three- and four-lane sections. The rare black-and-white sign, which will gradually be integrated into other European roads, is almost not advertised.
Therefore, not even all residents of settlements adjacent to the indicated roads know and understand these signs. When seeing such a sign, the driver should know that somewhere ahead or behind is moving an autonomous car, so caution here will not hurt.