Sunday was perfect weather for motorcyclists. Police thus took the opportunity to beef up their presence in Heiderscheidergrund and inspect drivers, their helmets, and verify papers.
Motorcyclists are statistically more likely to be involved in traffic accidents, says police traffic expert André Schaack: "This means we have a safety problem. One must know that between 2015 and 2018 we had 25 deadly incidents involving motorcyclists."
A routine check can quickly become expensive: if a helmet is not safe, no yellow vest is stored, the exhaust pipe not compliant with standards, and the left mirror has a problem, the driver needs to cough up €243. The motorcycle is parked on the side of the road and the driver must return home without it.
Often foreign motorcyclists raise police attention, but André Schaack says their is a reason for that: "We have the areas of Éislek and Mullerthal nearby, they are attractive motorcycle routes. That's all fine, but all those driving here must adhere to the rules and regulations."
A mobile speeding camera is also in place, sometimes flashing a motorcyclist with double the permitted speeds of 90km/h on country roads. 25 motorcyclists were stopped within an hour, resulting in 14 infractions.
