BGH judgment: Who is allowed to drive up when the road narrows?
Now there is clarity
Created: 05/12/2022, 02:20 p.m
By: Stella Henrich
Motorists must now observe a new right-of-way rule.
So far it has not been clarified who has the right of way when the road narrows on both sides.
Now.
Munich – A new decision by the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) provides for a new priority rule in Germany.
The situation: Two-lane road, two cars are driving side by side in the same direction.
Suddenly a traffic sign.
Two lanes become one.
But which of the parallel driving cars is allowed to drive first?
The vehicle on the right - or the car on the left?
BGH judgment: Who is allowed to drive up when the road narrows?
Now there is clarity
In fact, the question of who has the right of way when the lane narrows on both sides has not yet been clarified.
The BGH in Karlsruhe has now created clarity for the first time.
The sign indicates that the lane is narrowing on both sides.
This means that drivers have to adjust their speed.
Overtaking is prohibited here.
(Iconic image) © Street Signs
The case dates back years and occurred in Hamburg in 2018.
A truck driving on the left pulled to the right because he had apparently not seen a car driving next to him in front of the lane narrowing.
The driver, in turn, assumed that she had the right of way.
So she didn't slow down.
The two vehicles collided.
BGH judgment: driver demanded full compensation
The accident went to court.
Because the car driver saw herself in the right and did not want to share the costs of the damage.
She demanded full damages.
After years of dispute, the BGH has now ruled: Both sides are to blame.
The reason: none of the two road users had the right of way.
There is no regular priority of one of the two previous lanes.
The principle of mutual consideration applies.
BGH judgment, file number VI ZR 47/21
The justification states: "There is no regular priority of one of the two previous lanes." The "principle of mutual consideration" applies.
(File number VI ZR 47/21) This means that road users must agree among themselves who is allowed to drive first.
Again and again there are dramatic scenes on Germany's streets.
According to the Bavarian State Office for Statistics, there are fewer accidents, but more and more people are having accidents on the road.
Above all, there are significantly more cyclists among the casualties.
A total of around 18,069 cyclists had an accident, 68 of them fatally, in 2020 according to the state office.
The increase was even greater among e-bike riders.
From January to December, more than 50 percent more injuries and more than 30 percent more fatalities were registered.
A trend that will also be confirmed in 2022.
However, the statistics do not show whether the road users do not know the meaning of the signs or simply ignore the traffic rules.
