Austria declares 3rd/4th lane of motorways a restricted area for trucks
Decision of the council of ministers to ban heavy truck traffic from the left lane on three and four-laned motorways in Austria
In order to improve safety and traffic flow, on 8 January the council of ministers approved an amendment to the Road Traffic Act for a general ban for trucks over 7.5 tonnes gross vehicle weight in the left lane of three and four-laned motorways in Austria. This affects 700 km of motorways with three lanes and 40 kilometers with four lanes. The entire network of motorways and highways in the country is 2,178 km.
According to the transport ministry in Switzerland, Germany and in Italy there are already identical or similar regulations in force. The experiences in these countries were very positive. Especially in the snowy winter months the new system will reduce obstacles due to broken-down trucks, traffic experts emphasise.
The Austrian road financing agency Asfinag welcomes the new truck-driving ban. The amendment will bring an end to dangerous „elephant races“, reads a press release. What was crucial, was that a ban on the far left lane does not hinder the speedy advancement of the truck traffic. The capacity of the first and second lanes should be enough for a smooth flow of traffic.
www.asfinag.at/en/home
Quelle: LogEastics
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