As of: February 26, 2024, 7:25 p.m
By: Marco Blanco Ucles
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Drivers in Germany often see a yellow sign with a tank on it on the side of the road in front of bridges.
But what does that mean?
Anyone who travels on the roads of Germany will know them: in front of bridges there are often yellow signs depicting a tank and various numbers.
Anyone who thinks that the numbers have anything to do with a standard speed for armored vehicles is wrong.
According to
TÜV Nord,
the signs are officially called MLC signs, the English abbreviation stands for Military Load Classification.
Many people don't know their meaning, just like some other traffic signs.
Signs have their origins in the Cold War
This traffic symbol can be seen on many bridges in West Germany - what does it mean?
© Olaf Döring/IMAGO
To explain the origin of the signs, you have to turn back a few pages in the history book, because the yellow signs were placed along military-relevant roads during the Cold War.
They indicate the maximum total weight with which military vehicles are allowed to pass the bridge.
The MLC number above the double and single arrow shows the weight with which the crossing can be driven from both directions or only from one side.
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If there is a sign in front of a bridge with the number 50 above a double arrow, which is also shown on other traffic signs, a modern Leopard tank with an MLC of 60 or 70 is not allowed to roll over a bridge with oncoming traffic for safety reasons.
However, if the number 100 is above a single arrow, the Leopard tank is allowed to pass over the bridge without oncoming traffic.
However, if you look at the light reconnaissance tank “Luchs”, for example, which has an MLC of 19, a different situation arises.
This is allowed to pass a bridge with a 50/100 sign at any time.
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However, the yellow signs are gradually disappearing from German roads.
They have been gradually being dismantled for years.
In East Germany this is not necessary at all, because according to
Focus
there were never any there.