• If a business practice in individual cases precludes bids or prohibitions of the Road Traffic Order (StVO), an exemption permit may be applied for. This applies, for example, to exceptions

    • the rules on road use,
    • the prohibition on entering a motorway or a road or using vehicles not registered there;
    • from the regulations for stopping and parking,
    • regulations on the dimensions of vehicle and cargo,
    • the rules on the wearing of seat belts and helmets,
    • from the Sunday and public holiday ban,
    • the prohibition of putting obstacles on the road,
    • prohibited to operate loudspeakers, to offer goods or services on the street,
    • the prohibition of advertising and propaganda in connection with traffic signs,
    • of the prohibitions or restrictions imposed by signs or indicative signs, and
    • from the ban on night or Sunday and holiday parks for vehicles over 7.5 t and trailers over 2 t in residential areas.

  • In order to protect road users, the legislator has stipulated that seat belts must be fitted during the journey and that safety helmets must be worn when driving motorcycles.

    However, it is possible to be exempted from this obligation on request. The resulting significant safety risk is borne by the applicant.

    Exemption from the belt-laying obligation is possible if

    • if it is not possible to wear seat belts for health reasons.
    • if the applicant's height is less than 150 cm.

    Exemption from the helmet wearing obligation is possible,

    • if it is not possible to wear a safety helmet for health reasons.
  • Commercial drivers have to record their driving and rest times. The company needs company cards to read this data.

    It is issued directly in the name of the company; several such cards per company are possible. If sole proprietorships have driver cards to record driving and rest times, they too need a company card.
  • Drivers of certain vehicles have to have their driving and rest times monitored; a driver card is required for the digital tachograph.

    In all newly registered commercial vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of more than 3.5 tonnes and buses with more than nine seats, digital tachographs are mandatory as a replacement for manual tachographs. These devices are necessary for recording, saving, displaying, printing and outputting the driver's activity-related data.

  • If the driver, company or workshop card is lost or stolen, you must apply for a new card.
    The following applies to the driver card:
    A maximum of fifteen calendar days may be driven without the driver card, during this period a manual printout must be made from the tachograph card device. The driver card must be re-applied for immediately.
  • In order to protect road users, the legislature has stipulated that seat belts must be worn while driving.

    However, there is the possibility of being exempted from this obligation upon request.
  • The driver card is issued for the digital control device for monitoring driving and rest times.

    Since the driver card is only issued for a limited period of 5 years, it must be re-applied for in good time. A new driver card will then be issued.

  • In Germany, lorries with a maximum permissible weight of more than 7.5 t and trailers are not allowed to operate behind lorries on Sundays and public holidays from 0.00 to 22:00.

    The prohibition shall not apply to the carriage of fresh milk, fresh meat and fresh fish or perishable fruit and vegetables, to certain combined rail-road freight transport up to a distance of 200 km or port road up to a distance of: 150 km.

    Exceptions to the Sunday or public holiday driving ban may be granted under certain conditions.

    Conditions

    An exemption may only be granted if certain conditions are met, e.g.:

    • Supplying the population with easily spoilable food
    • Timely loading and unloading of seagoing vessels
    • Maintaining the operation of public utilities or transport facilities.

    An exemption is granted after written application. Applications can be made by fax.

  • If you employ drivers from non-EU countries, you must apply for a driver attestation for them.

  • The road traffic authorities may, under certain conditions, exempt road users from the general traffic rules of the Road Traffic Regulations and the special traffic rules of signage and marking by granting an exemption.