Austria's Constitutional Court announced Monday it has upheld a western province's ban on truck traffic at night, saying the benefits for the environment outweighed financial losses.
VIENNA, Austria — Austria's Constitutional Court announced Monday it has upheld a western province's ban on truck traffic at night, saying the benefits for the environment outweighed financial losses.
The province of Tyrol, located just south of the German state of Bavaria and north of Italy, late last year extended a ban on heavy truck traffic at night by two hours in winter. Under that extension, heavy trucks can't travel on Tyrolian roads from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. The ban begins two hours later in summer.
Vorarlberg, a tiny Austrian province located west of Tirol, challenged the two-hour extension in court, arguing that the ban brought financial disadvantages.
The Constitutional Court announced Monday it had found the ban legal. It's ruling, issued March 3, said the lower court had no reason to doubt the environmental arguments Tyrol had presented in defending the measure.
It said Tyrol faced a "situation that appears almost hopeless" in terms of environmental protection and that the province had to weigh "the strong interests of environmental and health protection" against any financial losses caused by the ban.
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But the court also said the province would have to provide evidence that the extended winter ban had a positive effect on the environment. It also said Tyrol's authorities might have to consider reducing the speed limit for cars.
Bavaria has turned to the European Commission in an attempt to force an end to the ban.
Source: Associated Press
