Forming an emergency corridor correctly

In short: When traffic comes to a standstill on motorways or multi-lane roads outside built-up areas, drivers must leave a clear corridor for the police, fire brigade and ambulance service. It lies between the far left lane and the lane to its right.

In more detail: In Germany, Section 11 of the Road Traffic Regulations requires an emergency corridor (Rettungsgasse) as soon as vehicles are only moving at walking pace or are stationary. The information here is general guidance; rules and fines can change.

In detail

• Rule of thumb: Drivers in the left lane move to the left. All other lanes move to the right. This applies equally with two, three or more lanes.
• Form it in good time: The corridor must be created as soon as the traffic stalls, not only when sirens and blue lights can be heard or seen. Later there is often no room left to manoeuvre.
• Where it applies: The obligation applies on motorways and on roads outside built-up areas with at least two lanes in one direction.
• Leave a gap: Even in a traffic jam, keep enough distance from the vehicle in front so that you can still steer to the side.
• Turn the wheels: Position the vehicle at an angle towards the side if possible and do not roll back towards the middle, even if the queue moves briefly.
• Do not follow: The corridor is only for emergency vehicles. Using it to get ahead faster is prohibited and endangers others.
• Hard shoulder: The hard shoulder is not a spare lane. It may only be used when this is expressly permitted or to make room, without endangering others.
• Consequences of breaking the rules: Anyone who does not form an emergency corridor or drives through it without permission can expect a hefty fine, penalty points in Flensburg and possibly a driving ban.
• Context: The emergency corridor is one of the most important motorway rules and helps to get help to the scene quickly after an accident (autobahn-regeln-und-richtgeschwindigkeit, unfall-richtig-verhalten, bussgeld-und-punkte-in-flensburg).