Hamburg drivers caught breaching diesel ban | News | DW | 13.07.2018

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Hamburg drivers caught breaching diesel ban

More than 170 drivers have been caught violating a partial ban on diesel cars in Hamburg. The city was the first in Germany to impose such a measure in a bid to curb air pollution. Now Stuttgart wants to follow suit.

Police check cars in Hamburg

Authorities have so far nabbed 173 people flouting a 6-week-old partial diesel ban in the northern port of Hamburg, police said Friday.

The city imposed the restrictions in May as part of an effort to improve air quality. Under the new rules, vehicles that do not meet the latest Euro-6 emissions standards are prohibited from two busy stretches of road in the central district of Altona-Nord.

Offending car drivers face a €20 ($27) fine, while lorries must cough up €75.

Police say they checked more than 600 cars and trucks in the designated areas during four operations between June 21 and 26. A spokesman added that further operations were planned.

Read more: When driving isn't fun anymore

  • Traffic jam in Stuttgart

    Battling air pollution through driving bans

    Too much traffic makes for bad air

    Cities all over the world are fighting against smog. A German court has ruled that cities are allowed to impose driving bans. Many German cities — including Stuttgart, shown here — have developed an air pollution problem and are debating how best to approach the problem.

  • Panorama of Oslo

    Battling air pollution through driving bans

    Oslo, where the diesel ban is reality

    A diesel ban is imposed in the Norwegian capital whenever air pollution levels rise above a prescribed limit. The ban went into effect for the first time on January 17, 2017. Ambulances and other public service vehicles running on diesel are exempt from the measure. The city plans to reduce even more cars by eliminating municipal parking spaces in the center starting in 2019.

  • Snow in Paris

    Battling air pollution through driving bans

    Paris is also planning a diesel ban

    Starting in 2024, the French capital will ban diesel vehicles; in 2030 it intends to expand the ban to gas-powered cars. Vehicles manufactured before 1997 are already prohibited in the city on weekdays. When air pollution levels exceed prescribed limits, Parisians have to follow a rotation system in which only cars with either even- or odd-numbered plates are allowed to be driven in the city.

  • Congestion zone in London

    Battling air pollution through driving bans

    London has a congestion charge

    If you want to drive into the center of London, a day's ride through the city will cost you 10 pounds ($13.80, €11.20). London introduced the congestion charge in 2003. Automatic number plate recognition is used to enforce the measures. Anyone who does not pay the fee faces a heavy fine of up to 240 pounds.

  • Cycle paths in Copenhagen

    Battling air pollution through driving bans

    Copenhagen – the most bike-friendly city in the world

    Copenhagen's mayor, Frank Jensen, wants to prevent new diesel cars from entering the city starting in 2019. Currently, over 300 kilometers of roads in the Danish capital can only be used by cyclists. With the new regulations, cycling will become easier, more convenient and cheaper than driving a car. About half of Copenhageners now cycle to work.

  • Teatro Real in Madrid

    Battling air pollution through driving bans

    Pedestrian zones spreading in Madrid

    Car-free zones like the square in front of Madrid's Teatro Real are set to become a common sight in the city. Almost the entire center of the Spanish capital will be turned into pedestrian zones in the next five years. Madrid has high smog levels, due to being surrounded by mountains, which cause bad air to get trapped in the city.

  • Electric bus in Helsinki

    Battling air pollution through driving bans

    Helsinki offers a traffic app

    Riding public transport will become even easier in the near future in Helsinki. In the next ten years, a mobility on demand system will be developed to include all forms of public transport in one app, including buses, self-driving cars and minibuses with flexible routes. The goal of the app is to be so good that no one will want to own a car.

  • Electric rickshaws in India

    Battling air pollution through driving bans

    Driving electric rickshaws in Delhi

    Smog chokes Delhi and levels of air pollution regularly go off the scale. Electric rickshaws will hopefully alleviate the problem. By 2030, all new vehicles will be electrically powered and the city will phase out gas powered vehicles.

    Author: Stella Braun


Dirty air

Dozens of German cities, including Hamburg, Stuttgart and Munich, have long struggled with air pollution problems. In 2016, 90 German cities breached the European Union's limits on nitrogen oxide. Last year, 66 failed to meet the standards.

A major court decision in February cleared the way for German cities to ban heavily polluting diesel cars.

Hamburg was the first to act, but some critics have dismissed the new measures there as ineffective because they only apply to two streets.

Read more: Diesel car sales tanking in Germany 

Watch video 02:58

Diesel scandal hits Germany's used-car sector

Stuttgart to enact ban

On Wednesday, the southwestern city of Stuttgart — home to car makers Audi, Porsche and Mercedes-Benz — announced plans to impose its own ban on diesel cars from January next year. Authorities say they want to keep parts of the city's downtown free of diesel vehicles that fall under the Euro-4 or older emissions standards.

Diesel-engine cars, once considered a more environmentally friendly option, have largely fallen from favor following revelations that the German car industry cheated on diesel emissions tests.

A number of major capitals around the world, including Paris, Madrid, Mexico City and Athens, plan to ban diesel cars from their city centers by 2025.

Watch video 02:54

Diesel cars losing appeal in Germany

nm/rc (dpa Reuters)

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DW recommends

German court allows city ban on diesel cars

Germany's top administrative court has ruled that it is legal for cities to ban diesel cars. The government opposes the bans, but is under pressure from the EU to do more to combat air pollution. (27.02.2018)  

Diesel car sales tanking in Germany

Germany has reported a jump in new car registrations over the past four months. At the same time, consumers felt a lot less inclined to buy diesel cars, following a series of scandals and looming driving bans in cities. (02.03.2018)  

Stuttgart to introduce diesel driving ban in 2019

Southern Germany's automotive capital will become the second major city in Germany to impose a partial diesel driving ban. It is another blow to diesel makers and owners after the turmoil of Dieselgate. (11.07.2018)  

When driving isn't fun anymore

There seems to be no end to the German scandal involving carmakers' emissions-cheating endeavors. Now the first partial diesel-engine driving bans are being introduced. Are privately-owned cars soon a thing of the past? (28.05.2018)  

Hamburg to ban older diesel cars from certain streets by May 31

The port city has approved a ban on older diesel models from two major streets. The decision deals a blow to German automakers and the federal government, which had sought to avoid such bans. (23.05.2018)  

Hamburg wakes up to Germany's first diesel ban

On a bright May day, the northern city of Hamburg became the first in Germany to enact a diesel ban. But the city's residents are less than bowled over by the new arrangement, which has significant limitations. (31.05.2018)  

Battling air pollution through driving bans

Cities around the world are seeking ways to reduce the scourge of smog. German cities are now allowed to ban diesel cars in city centers while other countries provide tempting offers to drivers who leave the car at home. (02.03.2018)  

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