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Holiday chaos on the A31: Police check overloading before a traffic jam!
At the start of the summer holidays in North Rhine-Westphalia, the police are carrying out checks on the A31; Traffic jams and increased traffic expected.
Holiday chaos on the A31: Police check overloading before a traffic jam!
Today, July 12, 2025, the most wonderful time of the year begins for many families in North Rhine-Westphalia: the summer holidays. The last day of school was on Friday, and that means a significantly increased volume of traffic on the motorways, especially on the A31 towards Emden. Traffic is strictly controlled by the Emsland/County of Bentheim police station, with particular attention being paid to overloaded and incorrectly secured vehicles. A mobile scale is used to ensure that the journey begins safely. The checks also relate to signs of fatigue, alcohol and drug consumption as well as the correct presentation of vehicle and travel documents, as ndr.de reports.
The ADAC traffic information warns that there is a risk of additional traffic jams in Germany next weekend, not only in North Rhine-Westphalia, but also in other federal states. The start of the holidays leads to a second wave of travelers from Bremen, Hesse, Lower Saxony and Rhineland-Palatinate. Let's round things off: Even many travelers from Northern Europe are making their way south, which puts additional strain on the already crowded roads. It is expected that Friday afternoon, Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon will be among the busiest times - a very typical picture during peak travel times, confirms adac.de.
Traffic forecast and traffic jam hotspots
Although the summer holidays in Lower Saxony have already started at the beginning of July, the busy streets are also a result of the countless construction sites that are currently installed on German motorways - there are currently around 1,200. These hinder the flow of traffic and contribute to traffic jams. If you are planning long trips, you should keep your travel dates flexible and ideally schedule them on Monday or Tuesday outside of rush hour. If you want to be one of the particularly busy routes, you should have the A1, A31 and A7 on your radar. These routes are often affected by traffic jams, as verbandsbuero.de lists.
- A1: Köln – Dortmund – Münster – Osnabrück – Bremen – Hamburg
- A31: Bad Bentheim – Emden
- A7: Hamburg – Flensburg und weitere Abschnitte
Since traffic is increasing significantly, it is advisable to create an emergency lane even when traffic is at a standstill to make it easier for emergency services to pass through in an emergency. Failure to comply can result in fines of up to 320 euros, something the police closely monitor.
Another sticking point is the announced full closures on some motorway stretches. For example, the A5 between Darmstadt and Heidelberg will be closed on July 13th from 9 p.m. to July 15th at 5 a.m. Such closures often cause additional traffic jams. The traffic situation continues to be complicated by border controls at the German borders, which have been increased since May and can lead to longer waiting times at certain crossings.
Overall, the weekend is not a good time for spontaneous travel, especially by car. Those who prepare well and consider alternative routes if necessary have the best chance of making the travel time pleasant.