this post was submitted on 14 May 2026
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[–] meldrik@lemmy.wtf 1 points 6 days ago

It’s always a pleasure to drive on the German autobahn, unless I meet a fellow Dane on it 😂

[–] julianwgs@discuss.tchncs.de 99 points 1 week ago (4 children)

I didn‘t see any comment mentioning this, but not creating an emergency lane only 10 years ago was a huge problem in Germany. Then the government increased the fines massively and started a big awareness campaign. It took several years, but now it is the norm.

Intervention and change is possible as long as their is political will.

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rettungsgasse

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[–] lightnsfw@reddthat.com 77 points 1 week ago (12 children)

In America it would instantly be filled by cunts trying to cheat their way through traffic.

[–] lemmydividebyzero@reddthat.com 44 points 1 week ago (3 children)

In Germany, we have laws for that.

[–] zergtoshi@lemmy.world 30 points 1 week ago (3 children)

...which are enforced?
Because that's one major issue with the legal system of the USA.

[–] lemmydividebyzero@reddthat.com 19 points 1 week ago (1 children)

If you block the ambulance in Germany, you get punished nowadays.

Whether video evidence of driving through it without blocking an ambulance is enough? I don't know.

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[–] notsosure@sh.itjust.works 67 points 1 week ago (4 children)

That’s the plan. In real life, only few ambulances manage “to fly through”, there are always some jerks ignoring this rule.

[–] chickenf622@sh.itjust.works 36 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Probably still massively speeds up response times though. I imagine it wouldn't be that hard to squeeze 2 cars in that given space allowing the emergency vehicle to get past the person not following the rules.

[–] claimsou@lemmy.world 29 points 1 week ago (2 children)

The photo example is extreme. It’s usually narrower.

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[–] deadbeef79000@lemmy.nz 28 points 1 week ago (5 children)

The idea that another road user might have higher priority is unfortunately anathema to drivers here.

If this even happened here the corridor would simply be full of utes.

[–] betterdeadthanreddit@lemmy.world 20 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Excuse me, your honor, full of youths.

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[–] KatherinaReichelt@feddit.org 27 points 1 week ago (8 children)

As a german I'm always flabbergasted when people from other countries are amazed by that. It makes sense to do that - help get's faster to the accident and therefore the road will be cleared much faster than if the emergency services are stuck somewhere in the traffic jam. Do you have this strange behavior in other parts of your daily life, too?

[–] BackgrndNoize@lemmy.world 20 points 1 week ago (1 children)

This would require people capable of thinking and having empathy for others

[–] Noodle07@lemmy.world 1 points 6 days ago

Well that's what we teach children here 🤷

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 16 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Here in America you'd get people peeling through the middle

[–] Leg@sh.itjust.works 11 points 1 week ago (1 children)

That's what's amazing to me. Every single driver resisting the urge to cut the line when the opportunity is right there? Couldn't be America.

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[–] matlag@sh.itjust.works 11 points 1 week ago

In the US? You mean other than keeping the shittiest health care system in the world just to be sure no money would go to someone who can't pay?

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[–] hzl@piefed.blahaj.zone 23 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

Americans would be too angry about the one or two cars or motorcycles that might occasionally take advantage to be able to do this. Even merging results in a lot of grumpy drivers trying to prevent "cutting".

Great idea, though.

[–] marius@feddit.org 12 points 1 week ago

Driving through the rettungsgasse is punished very heavily though

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[–] Avicenna@programming.dev 22 points 1 week ago (1 children)

meanwhile if you did this in my home country, half the people there would just pass to the corridor never questioning for a single second why that corridor exists and why all the others are not using it

[–] Underwaterbob@sh.itjust.works 1 points 6 days ago (1 children)
[–] Avicenna@programming.dev 2 points 6 days ago

nope turns out there is more than one in that case

[–] djdarren@piefed.social 14 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Here in the UK we do something similar, though not until we see the flashing lights. We pull across as far as we can in order to allow as much space as possible.

[–] glimse@lemmy.world 13 points 1 week ago (3 children)

That is the law in the US as well. TWICE I've seen someone ignore it and both times other citizens (in cars as well as pedestrians) bully the driver into following it.

Driver: I didn't have anywhere to go!

Bike messenger: Turn into the fuckin alley or I'm breaking all your lights

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[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 13 points 1 week ago (4 children)

wait hold on. i don't see an emergency vehicle. you just do this because traffic is stopped?

[–] SchwertImStein@lemmy.dbzer0.com 15 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (6 children)

how do you think it would work if they only did it when there was an ambulance?

[–] Sylvartas@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 6 days ago

I mean that's kinda what we do in France and it works mostly fine I think ?

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[–] Fondots@lemmy.world 13 points 1 week ago

Anecdotally, 40-ish years ago, one of my mom's relatives came to visit from Poland. There are a whole lot of wild stories about that visit and from when my mom visited Poland around that same time that highlighted a lot of differences between life in the US and from behind the iron curtain at the time.

While he was here, her relative was amazed to see cars pulling off to the side to let emergency vehicles pass, that was apparently something totally new to him.

[–] chickenf622@sh.itjust.works 12 points 1 week ago (12 children)

The intrusive thought to just pull out and gun it down that road is fucking strong.

[–] real_squids@sopuli.xyz 13 points 1 week ago

i see that regularly, when an ambulance carves out a lane there's always one or two impatient mfs following it

[–] a_wild_mimic_appears@lemmy.dbzer0.com 11 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Which gets fucking expensive quick, because it's illegal and the probability is high that police and / or ambulance already are at the end of your race track

[–] chickenf622@sh.itjust.works 12 points 1 week ago

I mean that's why it's an intrusive thought instead of a good idea.

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[–] andrewta@lemmy.world 12 points 1 week ago (8 children)

This needs to be taught in the US and it needs to be enforced. If there’s two lanes on the road.(And I mean, two lanes going one way two lanes going the other way) Then, if it comes to a standstill everybody part so you have a center area that emergency services could drive in

[–] bcgm3@lemmy.world 11 points 1 week ago

Doing something for the good of people I don't even know? Sounds dangerously close to socialism! /s

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[–] fizzle@quokk.au 10 points 1 week ago (4 children)

I dont get it.

Here the shoulder is traversable. Like its wide enough to drive down.

We dont do this because emergency services just drive down the shoulder.

[–] Hawk@lemmy.dbzer0.com 17 points 1 week ago (5 children)

What would you prefer? An uninterrupted lane or one where you have to get past broken down cars/merging traffic, ...

In a situation where every second can count, it's easy to see why Germany (among other countries) does this.

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[–] Foofighter@discuss.tchncs.de 15 points 1 week ago

The shoulders in Germany and to my understanding most of Europe are used to give broken down vehicles space to change a tire or wait for service in safety, or to allow construction site to move the lanes to the sides without merging. Traffic jams are often a result of to much traffic, construction or accidents and often enough cause cars to break down. Hence the shoulders are often blocked in situations, where the emergency vehicles are needed. Also, there are many, of not most, streets without shoulders. The Autobahn/ National routes being the exception.

Also the shoulders in Germany, the US and UK are in my experience rather bumpy. So driving in them at full speed can be a bit risky.

I thing the argument for this method is that it is universal: traffic is not moving? Move over and make space and allow emergency vehicles to pass through at full speed.

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