2024-07-11 10:25:31
Changes to transport routes in Germany are becoming easier. The Federal Council has approved a corresponding adjustment.
Bus lanes, bicycle paths and 30 km/h zones can be set up more easily in the future – and there will be stricter regulations for trucks to protect against rear-end collisions. This is provided for in new regulations in road traffic law, which the Federal Council has approved with some changes.
The amendment to the Road Traffic Act has now been sealed several months late after the Federal Council had put the brakes on an underlying law and sent it to the joint mediation committee with Parliament.
According to plans by the Federal Ministry of Transport, the new regulations are intended to expand the framework for local decisions for which certain conditions exist. This is also intended to improve the interaction between cars, buses and trains, cyclists and pedestrians. An overview:
The design of 30 km/h zones should become easier, not only on side streets, but also on priority roads. Specifically, this applies to streets next to playgrounds, for example. In the case of schools, the design should not only be possible directly in front of them, but also on busy school routes.
Gaps between two 30 km/h zones should be able to be closed more flexibly so that traffic flows more easily. So far, this has been possible for gaps of up to 300 meters – in the future it can be up to 500 meters.
Special lanes or extra traffic lights for buses will become easier to set up – as will the provision of “appropriate areas” for rolling and parked bicycles and for pedestrians.
Authorities should also be able to set up lanes to test climate-friendly mobility – for example for electric cars, hydrogen vehicles or cars with multiple passengers. This should also serve to improve safety if such lanes are used to bundle different speeds when starting off.
Zones with parking permits for car owners from the area are an “effective instrument for controlling the parking burden in urban districts”. In the future, they should not only be possible as a reaction to considerable “parking pressure” – but should also be opened up for traffic planning and urban development considerations in order to prevent such parking pressure from occurring in the first place.
There is to be a new, standardized traffic sign for separate parking areas for loading and unloading for private and commercial purposes. This is intended to reduce traffic looking for parking spaces and stopping and parking in double rows, which often brings traffic to a standstill and leads to accidents. The new blue signs are to mark loading zones with a time limit, and the area should also be able to be marked on the road. The Federal Council voted for a change that the more appropriate term “loading area” should be used on the sign instead of “loading zone”.
For vehicles over 3.5 tons, there will be a ban on switching off emergency braking assistants at speeds of more than 30 kilometers per hour. Serious accidents can often occur, especially on motorways, when trucks drive into vehicles at the end of a traffic jam, for example. Such systems warn of impending collisions and automatically reduce the speed. Exceptions for certain vehicles are also regulated.