As of: February 11, 2024, 1:59 p.m
By: Simon Stock
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A round, red-bordered sign with an orange egg over waves: Drivers should know this traffic sign because they risk a hefty fine.
Hamm - The German Schilderwald is large, lush and colorful like leaves in autumn.
To get your driver's license you have to know the meaning of every traffic sign, but the meaning of the rare ones disappears from your mind over the years.
Hand on heart: Do you still know what the round, red-bordered prohibition sign with the orange egg over a black dumbbell and blue waves means?
You should, because failure to comply will result in a hefty fine,
reports
wa.de.
Orange egg over dumbbells and waves: traffic signs can lead to hefty fines
The powerful German road traffic regulations (StVO) list the traffic sign as number 269. Of course, it has nothing to do with eggs or dumbbells, but it does have to do with water, because it indicates the “ban on vehicles with water-polluting loads”.
The sign is often found on roads that pass through water protection areas.
It is often supplemented by a corresponding sign.
“Egg” and “dumbbell” together form the symbol for a tanker truck.
This is misleading, because the ban on passage applies not only to trucks or other heavy transporters, but to all vehicles that carry more than 20 liters of water-polluting cargo, including theoretically every car. 20 liters fit in even the smallest trunk.
Ban on vehicles with water-polluting cargo - which substances are included
Water-polluting cargo refers to all solid, liquid and gaseous substances that can permanently change the quality of the water.
These include, for example:
acids
Lye
alkali metals
Halogens
lead salts
Poisons
mineral oils
The purpose of the ban on vehicles with this load is clear: the aim is to prevent dangerous substances from getting into the water in the event of a leak in the tank or after an accident.
According to the Federal Environment Ministry, it is “not just about spectacular damage such as after the fire at the Sandoz company in Basel, fish deaths or impairments in the drinking water supply, but also about damage to aquatic organisms that is not visible at first glance, such as algae or small crustaceans.”
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Vehicles with loads that are hazardous to water are not allowed to continue driving here.
© IMAGO / Schöning
Substances hazardous to water: The Ministry of the Environment names three classes
The ministry knows three water hazard classes (WGK):
WGK 1:
slightly hazardous to water (e.g. acetic acid, caustic soda, alcohol or hydrogen peroxide)
WGK 2:
significantly hazardous to water (e.g. heating oil, sodium hypochlorite, iodine)
WGK 3:
highly hazardous to water (e.g. waste oil, chlorinated hydrocarbons, benzene)
Anyone who transports 20 liters or more of one of the substances mentioned and continues to drive despite the prohibition sign will face a hefty fine of up to 250 euros - even without causing any damage.
There are only 13 traffic signs in Germany - making them the rarest in the country.
The meaning is unknown to many.
But that's no problem.
Another new traffic sign has something special, even if it seems inconspicuous.