News: The tug-of-war over the amendment to the Road Traffic Regulations lasted a long time. At the end of April, it finally came into force, along with the associated catalog of fines. The result: higher penalties for speeding and numerous measures to protect cyclists . However, due to a procedural error, the amendment is invalid. Several federal states have already suspended its implementation.
Small mistake - big effect
Higher penalties for driving too fast and parking in cycle paths, the new regulation of the 1,5 meter distance rule when overtaking bicycles. With this and many other regulations, the StVO amendment should bring additional protection for cyclists. However, as the legal experts from the ADAC automobile club found out, the StVO amendment was knitted with too hot a needle. A small legal error renders the entire amendment and thus also its regulations invalid. The stumbling block is a missing, legally necessary reference to a legal basis.
ADFC appeals to Minister of Transport
The conflict particularly concerns the level of fines for speeding. Nevertheless, the dissent threatens to overturn the entire StVO amendment and with it the improvements for cyclists. The cycling club ADFC is now making an urgent appeal to Federal Transport Minister Scheuer and the state transport ministers to decouple the debate on driving bans from improvements for cyclists. According to the ADFC, the improvements made to cycling should be implemented immediately across the board.
“Minister Scheuer has set out to make cycling safer. He has succeeded in doing so in part with the amendment to the road traffic regulations. A formal error in the legislative package and the overheated debate about driving bans for speeding cars must under no circumstances lead to the important improvements for cycling being postponed for months. There is a broad consensus in the federal and state governments for bicycle safety. Minister Scheuer and his state colleagues must exclude the speeding issue in an emergency and ensure that the bicycle amendment that is also affected is promulgated as soon as possible.” – Burkhard Stork (ADFC Federal Managing Director)