VDIK welcomes legal regulation on the question of the proportionality of driving bans

Bad Homburg: The Bundestag and Bundesrat have taken an important step by amending the Federal Immission Control Act and the Road Traffic Act to largely reduce the risk of driving bans. In particular, the new legal regulation, according to which driving bans are generally disproportionate if the annual average NOx load does not exceed 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air, is – in the sense of the ruling of the Federal Administrative Court of 22 February 2018 – helpful. Everything currently indicates that such exceedances will become increasingly rare in the near future due to the measures taken so far, in particular fleet renewal. The agreed exceptions for modern Euro6 diesel engines, older vehicles with nitrogen oxide emissions of less than 270 milligrams per kilometer, retrofitted buses and certain municipal and commercial vehicles also ensure safety for users.

VDIK President Reinhard Zirpel: “It remains to be hoped that the municipalities will make full use of the framework that has now been created and that driving bans can thus be avoided as far as possible. The VDIK members will continue to contribute to the overall reduction of emissions and above all in the relevant local authorities by means of suitable measures, in particular exchange premiums for fleet renewal.