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Overtaking queues of cars
Source: Pixabay/ mirrors-6093_1280
Overtaking queues of cars
Just recently, the following incident occurred: a van broke down on a country road, as a result of which it blocked the lane, but marked by warning lights. Behind this passenger car formed a long queue of cars. A motorist wanted to overtake the queue and then collided with a car already overtaking from behind. The district court of first instance rejected a claim for damages in favor of the second overtaking car, because according to § 6 of the (German) Highway Code, the overtaking car should have announced that it was pulling out and should have paid attention to the traffic behind it. However, the next higher instance assumes at least contributory negligence, so that the driver would be entitled to at least 50% of the damage and the damage items are to be divided. For her part, the driver overtaking from behind violated the special duty of care when overtaking. Since it was not obvious from a distance why a queue of cars had formed, the traffic situation was unclear in the sense of § 5 StVO. The assumption of an overtaking prohibition was presumably even present in the situation, nevertheless, the last overtaking should have kept to the general caution and consideration requirement. The facts of the case are based on a decision by the Saarbrücken Regional Court.