Without stopping your car for a moment, it turns out to be difficult to understand what exactly the signs say. Many motorists we speak to today have no idea even after a few seconds of reading. “You actually have to stop and go through everything first,” says someone who arrives in a van.
The fact that the series of traffic signs is so long is due to all the exceptions that have been made. For example, only diesel cars with at least ’emission class 4′ are still allowed into the city. Large buses and trucks must have an even higher emission class. In principle, scooters are only allowed to enter the environmental zone if they do not emit anything, but (as can also be read on the signs), an exception has been made for scooters imported between 2011 and 2024. Different rules apply to taxis; they are allowed to enter environmental zones if they were built after 2009.
On the gamble
But it is not very clear, say several motorists who drive by. “Especially because there are so many,” says a woman, who suggests showing everything in one traffic sign. “Now you don’t even have time to read everything.”
A driver of a diesel van cannot read from the signs whether he is allowed to continue driving or not: “That’s a good question, I can’t figure it out very well.” After a few seconds of staring, he bets that his car is welcome: “I have a diesel, but it only has 750 kilometers on the odometer, so it is quite new.”