The parliament of the German state Saxony-Anhalt has rejected a proposal by the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD) to impose a ban on HGVs overtaking during peak hours on the A14 motorway in the state.
The proposal, which is aimed at preventing accidents caused by overtaking trucks, was turned down by the state’s infrastructure minister, Lydia Hüskens, reports local news site mdr.de.
Hüskens explained that there are already restrictions on overtaking in dangerous areas on the A14, but that they must be based on “objective and not just perceived” danger. She also emphasized that the recent heavy truck accident that occurred on the A14 was not caused by slow overtaking but rather by driver distraction.
The AfD had proposed a ban on overtaking for all vehicles over 7.5 tonnes on the entire Saxony-Anhalt section of the A14 from 6 am to 10 am and from 3 pm to 7 pm on weekdays. The party claimed that the increase in HGV traffic had led to an increase in accidents on the motorway.
This decision by the Magdeburg Landtag comes amid ongoing debates across Europe about how to address road safety and reduce the number of accidents involving heavy trucks.
Photo credits @ Tnemtsoni, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons