quick overview
Very high traffic from early Friday afternoon due to commuters and holidaymakers throughout Germany
Heavy northbound and northwestbound return traffic on Saturday and Sunday
In neighboring countries there is also very high traffic volume, as almost everywhere is the summer holidays
Freitag
Travel and commuter traffic starting early in the afternoon. Very high traffic volume nationwide, the risk of traffic jams is very high. Peak times are between 12pm and 8pm.
Saturday
Very high volume of traffic already from the early hours of the morning. In particular, the classic holiday routes to the south, west and to the coasts of the North and Baltic Seas are heavily used. In addition, there is a high volume of traffic on the homebound lanes in the opposite direction. The heaviest traffic can be expected between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., on the homebound lanes from the late morning hours until 6 p.m. Dense traffic also on the secondary routes.
Sunday
Holiday traffic on trunk roads from the morning hours, peak travel times between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Heavy return traffic from late morning until the evening hours. Higher traffic volume on the secondary routes throughout the day.
Current information
The ACE has lots of tips in its summer guide to ensure that your trip to your holiday is stress-free and as relaxed as possible. Those who are not dependent on booking dates should definitely travel during the week. Due to the noticeable reduction in commuter traffic, the weekdays are now much more pleasant travel days, although experience has shown that Tuesdays and Wednesdays are best to travel. If at all, the roads are only good to drive at night. In addition to the countless traffic jams within Germany, the following sections of the route will also be particularly jam-prone this weekend due to the start of the holiday season in southern Germany. The A3 Frankfurt – Würzburg – Nuremberg and Würzburg – Frankfurt – Cologne – Oberhausen, the A5 Hattenbacher Dreieck – Darmstadt – Heidelberg – Karlsruhe – Freiburg in both directions, the A6 between Mannheim and Heilbronn and on to Nuremberg, in both directions, the A7 Würzburg – Ulm – Füssen, the A8 Karlsruhe – Stuttgart – Ulm and Munich – Salzburg in both directions and the A81 between Heilbronn and Stuttgart and on to Singen, also in both directions. Diverting traffic from the main routes and excursion traffic also cause very high traffic volumes on the secondary road network. If you are considering an excursion, you should reconsider your plans and opt for a bike or choose a day out during the week.
The extended truck driving ban (for trucks over 7.5 tons) on weekends from July 1 to August 31 has made travel somewhat easier. The driving ban comes into effect every Saturday in July and August from 7:00 a.m. on many heavily used motorway sections and some federal highways and applies until 8:00 p.m. There are also such additional driving bans for heavy trucks on weekends in most of the neighboring European countries: eg in Austria, France and Italy, each at different times. In addition, on Sundays and on national holidays, trucks transporting goods over 7.5 tons are not allowed to drive on motorways and federal roads between midnight and 10 p.m. Exceptions apply to the transport of fresh groceries, among other things.
Detailed traffic forecasts for individual routes in Germany and Europe can be found here
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