# Low Water Levels: More Federal States Relax Truck Driving Bans **Category:** Regulation | **Source:** Frachtportal Redaktion | **Published:** 2026-08-10 | **Updated:** 2026-08-11 **Tags:** Niedrigwasser Rhein, LKW Fahrverbot, LKW Sonntagsfahrverbot, Sonntagsfahrverbot, Deutschland, Strassentransport, Rhein, Lieferkette, LKW, Dispo, Logistik News, Transport News, Fracht News, Speditions News, Supply Chain News, Zoll News, Frachtportal News, Seefracht, LKW Transport, Schienentransport > Several German federal states are allowing additional truck journeys on weekends due to low water levels. This creates new opportunities for freight companies – but not a general blanket approval. --- Extreme low water levels on the Rhine and other German waterways are now directly affecting road freight transport. Several German federal states have temporarily relaxed the Sunday and public holiday driving bans for certain trucks. North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony, Rhineland-Palatinate, and Saarland led the way. Bremen joined on August 10. Baden-Württemberg has also now issued an exemption. Bavaria has announced that it will also permit additional truck operations starting the following weekend. The background is straightforward: Due to low water levels, many inland vessels can now carry only a portion of their normal cargo. Transports must therefore be partially shifted to rail or road. The additional weekend operations are intended to prevent cargo flows from backing up further or industrial facilities from having to reduce production due to missing raw materials. However, the exemptions do not apply simply to every transport. In Lower Saxony, for example, the regulation applies to trucks over 7.5 tons and trucks with trailers when the trip is necessary as replacement transport due to low water levels. The regulation there initially applies until August 31. North Rhine-Westphalia has also limited the exemption initially until the end of August. Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland have provided for longer periods extending to a maximum of the end of September. Bremen has also initially limited its regulation until August 31. However, this also demonstrates the problem: There is currently no uniform federal regulation. Freight forwarding companies must therefore carefully check which federal states their vehicles travel through and which exemption actually applies there. --- From a dispatch perspective, the relaxation is fundamentally helpful. A shipment that would normally need to be switched from barge to truck at short notice due to capacity constraints on the Rhine can potentially now be carried out on a Sunday as well. However, be careful: Lifting the Sunday driving ban does not automatically mean free rein for every truck. The connection to low water levels or a necessary substitute transport should be documented. Additionally, normal driving and rest time regulations for drivers must be observed. The driver shortage also does not disappear due to this exemption. A truck operating on Sunday therefore does not automatically provide additional weekly capacity. This is also pointed out by the German Road Haulage Association and Logistics (Bundesverband Güterkraftverkehr und Logistik). Especially for trips through multiple federal states, dispatch should check before departure which regulations apply on the entire route. Not all states have relaxed driving bans equally. In short: The exceptions create additional flexibility, but they replace neither missing barge capacity nor drivers and must be carefully reviewed for each individual transport. --- North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony, Rhineland-Palatinate, and the Saarland have introduced exceptions to the Sunday and public holiday driving ban. Bremen joined on August 10; the regulation there is initially valid until August 31. Lower Saxony has also limited its exception until August 31, 2026. The Lower Saxony exception applies to necessary substitute transport due to low water levels. This affects trucks over 7.5 tons and trucks with trailers. North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony have limited their regulations initially until the end of August, Rhineland-Palatinate and the Saarland until the end of September at the latest. Baden-Württemberg also issued a limited exception on August 10 until the end of August. Bavaria has announced a relaxation starting next weekend; the specific rules are still being developed. The measures are based on discussions between Federal Transport Minister Steffen Bilger with the business and logistics industry regarding the low water situation. The exceptions from the driving ban do not automatically change the statutory driving and rest times for drivers. ## Related Entities ### Countries - [Germany](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/land/de) ### Seaports - [Rotterdam (NL RTM)](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/seaports/rotterdam-port-nl-rtm) - [Hamburg (DE HAM)](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/seaports/hamburg-port-de-ham) - [Bremen (DE BRE)](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/seaports/bremen-port-de-bre) ### Glossary - [Freight forwarding](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/freight-forwarding-2) - [Production](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/production) - [Combined Inland Navigation Logistics](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/combined-inland-navigation-logistics) - [Inland Waterway Transport](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/inland-waterway-transport) - [Barge Slot](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/barge-slot) - [Delivery KPI](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/delivery-kpi) - [truck loading](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/truck-loading) - [Low Water Surcharge (LWS)](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/low-water-surcharge-lws) - [Loading Draught (Abladetiefe)](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/loading-draught-abladetiefe) --- *Canonical URL: [https://www.freight-academy.com/en/news/niedrigwasser-immer-mehr-bundeslaender-lockern-lkw-fahrverbote-20260810170618](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/news/niedrigwasser-immer-mehr-bundeslaender-lockern-lkw-fahrverbote-20260810170618)* *Markdown mirror: [https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/news/en/niedrigwasser-immer-mehr-bundeslaender-lockern-lkw-fahrverbote-20260810170618](https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/news/en/niedrigwasser-immer-mehr-bundeslaender-lockern-lkw-fahrverbote-20260810170618)*