It was only a matter of time before German courts turned their attention to the country’s Autobahn highways in regards to banning older diesel-powered vehicles.
Earlier this week, a court ruled in favor of banning older diesels from certain areas of Gelsenkirchen and Essen’s city center, as well as parts of the A40 highway. These restrictions are expected to kick off in July 2019.
According to DW, the Environment Ministry of North Rhine-Westphalia, the state where the affected section of the highway is located, plans to appeal the ruling.
Unlike a city center ban, which still leaves motorists with multiple other options to get around, an Autobahn ban might drastically affect the lives of commuters used to traveling between cities. So whether the ban is enforced or not, remains to be seen.
This latest order comes just days after a court ruled in favor of diesel bans for certain areas of Cologne and Bonn. Other locations where diesel-powered cars might get a hard time come 2019 include Mainz, Stuttgart, Aachen, Frankfurt and Berlin – the latter two also aiming to ban Euro 5 diesels (not just Euro 4) before the end of next year.
Of course, it’s unlikely that these bans will be city-wide. In the case of Berlin, a court ruled that by the end of June 2019, vehicles with diesel engines that have Euro 5 and lower emissions standards shouldn’t be allowed to drive on “at least eleven routes,” reports Reuters.
