Sunday and Holiday Driving Bans Through the End of September, As Authorities Respond to Weeks of Drought and Persistently Low Water Levels

State Transport Minister Nicole Razavi (CDU) announced the extension in Stuttgart, saying the worsening situation on federal waterways is posing significant challenges for inland shipping and many businesses in the state. The exemption had previously been set to expire at the end of August. Starting this weekend, the temporary exemption will also cover oversized and heavy transports.

The requirement that cargo be indivisible will be waived for transports with a total weight of up to 44 tons, according to the announcement. The exemptions apply to transports that directly or indirectly help manage the consequences of low water levels. They allow goods that cannot currently be shipped by water due to low river levels to be moved by road on Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays when needed.

Necessary empty trips associated with these transports are also covered. The background is severe restrictions on inland shipping on the Rhine, Danube, and other waterways. Many cargo ships can currently only sail with significantly reduced loads due to low water levels.

The relaxed driving ban allows more freight transport to be temporarily shifted from waterways to roads. The measure is controversial. While business and logistics associations hope for relief for supply chains, unions criticize additional burdens on drivers.

Olaf Bandt, chairman of the German environmental organization BUND, said low river levels are a symptom of the climate crisis and that the measures show the government has not understood this. Dredging riverbeds or putting more trucks on highways cannot solve the problem, Bandt recently told the Rheinische Post. The Baden-Württemberg Freight Forwarding and Logistics Association also noted that roads cannot fully compensate for lost inland shipping capacity. Die sich zuspitzende Lage auf den Bundeswasserstraßen stellt die Binnenschifffahrt und damit auch viele Unternehmen in Baden-Württemberg vor erhebliche Herausforderungen.