A good year ago, the "bicycle amendment" should finally come into force. The reform of the road traffic regulations should, among other things, bring higher penalties for speeders and, in return, increase the safety of cyclists on the road. However, the whole thing degenerated into a legal stalemate. Now the conference of transport ministers is apparently finally paving the way.
A year's standstill due to technical errors
The new road traffic regulations came into force in April 2020. This also includes a revised catalog of fines and various improvements for cycling. For example, parking in cycle paths should be penalized with 100. The minimum distance for overtaking cyclists was also stipulated for the first time at 1,50 m, as was the ban on stopping in a protective lane.
It was also more expensive for drivers to open the car door or turn off without looking over their shoulder. However, this reform was short-lived. Technical inaccuracies in the legal drafting, a forgotten paragraph and last but not least the dispute about the amount of the fines threw a spanner in the works. The reform was initially suspended and handed over to committees.
"Completely unnecessary debate" ended
Now, at last, those responsible have met within the framework of the Transport Ministers' Conference agreed after almost a year of standstill. The way is now clear. Both for the numerous sensible improvements for the safety of cyclists on the road and for the new catalog of fines.
[testimonial cite=“Rebecca Peters, ADFC Vice Federal Chairwoman”]The completely unnecessary debate about supposedly excessive fines for speeding drivers has jeopardized cyclist safety for an entire year. Cycle paths continued to be blocked without any sanctions, and cyclists continued to be endangered by drivers turning without looking over their shoulders. It's good that this undignified wrangling is finally over. It's unthinkable if the transport ministries had dragged the process out until the next legislative session.[/testimonial]