The Traffic Sign That Almost No One Knows: Germany Creates Sign of a Car with Three Occupants to Encourage Carpooling

Written by Ruth Rodrigues

Published on 22/09/2025 at 07:54

Updated on 22/09/2025 at 07:55

Desde 2020, a Alemanha introduziu uma placa para carros com três ou mais pessoas, mas a sinalização quase não é vista nas ruas e a maioria dos motoristas desconhece seu significado. Imagem: Chip

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Since 2020, Germany has introduced a sign for cars with three or more people, but the signage is hardly seen on the streets and most drivers are unaware of its meaning.

In 2020, the German government decided to update the Traffic Law to make the streets safer and traffic more efficient. Among the changes, a new traffic sign was created representing a black car with three people inside.

The intention was to encourage carpooling and allow vehicles with more occupants to drive on lanes typically reserved for buses, contributing to the reduction of congestion and increasing the safety of pedestrians and cyclists.

Despite the measure being in effect for five years, the vast majority of drivers are not aware of the sign, which is officially called “passenger cars or motorcycles with sidecars carrying at least three people.”

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

New Traffic Sign: The Proposal That Did Not Consolidate

Although incorporated into the legislation, the proposal to allow bus lanes for vehicles with three occupants did not advance in practice.

During the approval process, authorities realized that allowing these cars to circulate could compromise the efficiency of public transportation.

As a result, the sign never had real application in the daily life of German streets.

Currently, it is used only in tests conducted by transit authorities and does not have official regulation for effective use.

This means that, in practice, drivers cannot rely on the sign as a real benefit, being required to follow the existing rules for exclusive bus lanes.

Penalties Continue in Effect

Drivers who violate bus lanes, even with three or more occupants, are subject to fines ranging from 15 to 170 euros, approximately R$95 to R$1,082, depending on the risk that the violation poses to other road users.

This reinforces that, even being an innovative measure, the sign did not change traffic rules and did not bring practical benefits in everyday life.

Lessons from a Poorly Absorbed Innovation

The case of the sign shows that legal changes do not always translate into behavioral change.

Although the intention was to promote carpooling and improve traffic flow, the lack of practical application and adequate dissemination has made the signage almost invisible to the public.

Even with five years since its creation, the sign for vehicles with three occupants remains as an inactive legal concept, highlighting the challenges of implementing traffic innovations that depend on both regulation and driver awareness.

Source: Xataka

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The Traffic Sign That Almost No One Knows: Germany Creates Sign of a Car with Three Occupants to Encourage Carpooling

Since 2020, Germany has introduced a sign for cars with three or more people, but the signage is hardly seen on the streets and most drivers are unaware of its meaning.

New Traffic Sign: The Proposal That Did Not Consolidate

Penalties Continue in Effect

Lessons from a Poorly Absorbed Innovation

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The Traffic Sign That Almost No One Knows: Germany Creates Sign of a Car with Three Occupants to Encourage Carpooling

Since 2020, Germany has introduced a sign for cars with three or more people, but the signage is hardly seen on the streets and most drivers are unaware of its meaning.

New Traffic Sign: The Proposal That Did Not Consolidate

Penalties Continue in Effect

Lessons from a Poorly Absorbed Innovation

While in Brazil a 10-story building takes 2 years to complete, in China a company stacks pre-fabricated modules and raises the entire building in just 28 hours and 45 minutes.

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An entire island in the Pacific wants to surround itself with a colossal barrier against the ocean to try to escape increasingly violent waves and not be swallowed by the sea in the coming decades.

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In the Saudi Arabian desert, the world’s largest green hydrogen plant is 80% complete and will use 4 gigawatts of solar and wind energy to produce 600 tons of clean fuel per day when it opens in 2027.

Brazilian cities shining from space impress in a new image from NASA that reveals São Paulo, Rio, BH, and other urban centers during the historic Artemis II mission, which also captured the Moon like never before.

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