New StVO: Controversy over more speed in 30 km/h zones

The automobile association ADAC warns of an increase in 30 km/h zones in Rhineland-Palatinate. A speed limit in residential areas has proven effective. Traffic is calmed there, and pedestrians and cyclists feel safer, a spokesperson for ADAC Mittelrhein told the German Press Agency. Enforcing a 30 km/h limit in front of schools or kindergartens on main roads can also be sensible. However, a general speed limit of 30 kilometers per hour, especially on main roads, has a negative effect. 

Shortcut routes through residential areas become more attractive because they promise shorter travel times, explained a spokesperson for the General German Automobile Club. At 50 km/h, main roads can continue to consolidate traffic. "On these roads, traffic should flow so that it doesn’t divert, because no one really wants that." Moreover, smoothly flowing traffic generates less noise than vehicles frequently braking and accelerating again.

StVO amendment makes more 30 km/h zones possible

Due to new regulations in road traffic law, municipalities have more opportunities to create bus lanes, cycle paths, and 30 km/h zones. The speed limit is subject to certain conditions. 30 km/h zones can be established, for example, in the immediate vicinity of daycare centers, schools, nursing homes, or hospitals. With the changes in the road traffic regulations, the possibilities are expanded to include the surroundings of playgrounds and pedestrian crossings, as well as "high-frequency school routes" - meaning not just directly in front of schools, but also on the way there traffic can be slowed down. Two 30 km/h zones should also be easier to connect. Previously, they could be a maximum of 300 meters apart, now they can be up to 500 meters. These orders must always be proportionate, warns the ADAC. There should be no impairment to safety or traffic flow, and public acceptance must be ensured. New signs cannot simply be put up.

“Traffic participants must understand why a road has a 30 km/h limit rather than 50 km/h.”

32 applications from municipalities for 30 km/h zones

To protect residents from noise and exhaust fumes, there are numerous applications from municipalities in Rhineland-Palatinate for 30 km/h zones. Since the beginning of last year, 32 such applications have been received by the State Office for Mobility, as reported by Transport Minister Daniela Schmitt (FDP) in response to a parliamentary inquiry by the AfD faction in Mainz. In eleven cases, the green light for approval was given, five applications were denied. Sixteen applications are still being processed. According to the minister, the district of Bad Dürkheim can establish four 30 km/h zones, Mainz-Bingen district and Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis can each establish two. Approvals were also given for the districts of Ahrweiler, Bad Dürkheim, and Rhein-Lahn-Kreis. Of the 32 submitted applications, five involved a reduction of the permissible speed to 30 kilometers per hour only during the night.

The State Office for Mobility, as the upper road traffic authority in the country, must approve if measures to protect the population from noise and exhaust fumes are applied based on the road traffic regulations. According to the minister, the expected noise reduction effects at a specific road section are estimated using the forecast model binding for road traffic noise in Germany. The reduction of the maximum permissible speed from 50 to 30 in these calculations leads to average reductions in the so-called equivalent level between one and four decibels.