Strict diesel driving bans in Munich – model for other cities? – Business

The pressure had only increased again a few days ago. On September 20, seven citizens from all over Germany went before the Federal Constitutional Court to assert their basic right to health. A resident of Landshuter Allee in Munich is also part of the new lawsuit. Because the main road is still the sad leader nationwide. It is not only the street section in Munich with the worst air quality, but also in the entire federal territory. “Nowhere else in the country are such high exhaust gas values ​​registered as here,” says Munich Mayor Katrin Haben Schaden (Greens).

But that should be the end of next year. Because of the still extremely poor nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter levels in Munich, the city is changing course and massively tightening the diesel driving ban. From February 2023 onwards, the city wants to block out dirty diesel vehicles in a phased model that is stricter and more extensive than before. Because it is clear where the pollutants come from: “The biggest cause” is motor vehicle traffic, according to the city’s clean air plan. The tightening is also the result of a settlement as a result of previous lawsuits, including those from Deutsche Umwelthilfe. The stricter diesel ban is to apply in the environmental zone, which will in future encompass the entire city center, now including the Mittlerer Ring, Munich’s main thoroughfare. This was previously excluded.

The Munich case shows that it could become more difficult for diesel drivers, especially older vehicles, in Germany in the future. Previously, only those who had a green emissions sticker on their windscreen were allowed to drive into the low-emissions zone in downtown Munich – i.e. those who comply with the emissions standards of Euro 4 or better. From February, diesel vehicles with the Euro 4 emissions standard will also be affected by the driving ban, and later possibly those with the better, i.e. cleaner Euro 5 standard.

There is already a debate as to whether the limit values ​​need to be tightened

Poor air quality is a major problem in German cities. The current limit values ​​for particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide are now being complied with at most measuring points nationwide. But there are still exceptions like Landshuter Allee in Munich. In addition, debates have begun about the need for even stricter limits. The World Health Organization (WHO), for example, considers the limit values ​​previously applicable in Germany to be too high and has been recommending much stricter specifications for nitrogen oxides and fine dust since last year.

The EU usually follows the WHO values ​​with a delay. Should they become mandatory in the future, German cities would have to improve even more. While the WHO previously considered a maximum of 40 micrograms of nitrogen oxides per cubic meter of air to be a good value, it has now lowered this limit to ten micrograms. In future, a maximum of five instead of ten micrograms per cubic meter of air will be tolerated for ultra-fine particulate matter. For the somewhat coarser dusts, the limit drops from 20 to 15 micrograms. According to the German Environmental Aid, the new recommended maximum values ​​for ultrafine particulate matter in 2021 were exceeded at almost all 200 measuring stations in Germany; the benchmark for nitrogen dioxide was missed by 80 percent. Further driving bans may result.

So far, there are already special diesel driving bans in Germany, for example in Hamburg, Berlin, Stuttgart or Darmstadt, as from one Overview of the Federal Environment Agency emerges. However, the regulations vary from city to city – and are sometimes quite complicated. In Stuttgart, for example, the entire urban area is affected, but initially only diesel vehicles with the emission standard Euro 1 to Euro 4 (for cars) or Euro I to Euro IV (for trucks) were banned. Since 2020, this has been the case in parts of the city, including in the Stuttgart valley basin an additional tightening for Euro 5/V vehicles.

In Hamburg, diesel cars of the standards Euro 1/I to Euro 5/V were affected from the start; there the driving ban only applies to two streets – and only on one of them, namely on Max-Brauer-Allee, also for cars. In Berlin, on the other hand, there were once eight streets on which a driving ban for older diesel engines applied; since spring 2021 there have only been four. Diesel driving bans were considered in Frankfurt am Main, but have not yet been introduced. There, the pollutant levels in the air had recently improved and slipped below the critical mark.

One problem will be controlling the driving bans. So far there is a green sticker that sticks to the windshield. This signals that the diesel engine complies with emissions standard 4, 5 or 6, but does not break this down further; so it is not clear who has 4, 5 or 6. The Federal Ministry of Transport had resisted the introduction of a special sticker.

Open detailed view

If the regulation is now tightened, controls are therefore very complex: the officials have to stop the driver and use a key number in the vehicle documents to check which emissions standard the installed engine meets. In Hamburg, the police are therefore checking “on a random basis and on a case-by-case basis,” as Christof Tietgen from the local ADAC regional club reports. For example, if the officers notice a relatively old vehicle, it will be stopped and checked.

Munich is planning fines of 100 euros for violations

Penalties for violations also vary. to be in Berlin according to the ADAC Warnings or fines of between EUR 20 (cars) and EUR 75 (trucks) are due, in Stuttgart and Darmstadt the fine and administrative fee can add up to a total of EUR 108.50. The city of Munich is planning a fine of 100 euros plus an administration fee.

The reason for Munich’s rigorous approach is now the complaints about air pollution control. The city has received clear signals from the court that even harsher consequences are imminent if the parties do not come to an agreement out of court, said the mayor. Specifically, a driving ban for diesel vehicles in classes four and five would have threatened as early as January 1, 2023, with no exceptions.