14 Countries Implement Sunday Restrictions — Weekend Concentrations Across Alpine & Transit Corridors
This week brings a typical European pattern: routine nightly bans on weekdays (Monday–Friday, 22:00–05:00) across Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein, but weekend concentrations on Saturday 20 June and a major multi-country Sunday ban on 21 June affecting 14 nations. All restrictions apply to goods vehicles (HGV/TIR); passenger vehicles, coaches, and often empty containers remain exempt. For drivers planning routes through Central Europe, the Alpine corridor (Austria A12 Inntal, A13 Brenner) and transit routes through Poland require particularly tight scheduling.
Date-by-Date Breakdown
Monday–Friday, 15–19 June: Routine Nightly Restrictions
Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein observe their standard night-time bans (00:00–05:00 and 22:00–24:00) on all five weekdays. These apply to vehicles >7.5t in Austria and >3.5t in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. No additional daytime restrictions during this period.
Saturday, 20 June
| Country | Time | Applies to | Roads | Exemptions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇦🇹 Austria | 15:00–24:00 | >7.5t | All motorways & expressways (A12, A13) | Perishable goods, live animals, combined transport |
| 🇧🇬 Bulgaria | 16:00–20:00 | >12t | Highways & I/II class national roads | Perishable goods, live animals, military |
| 🇪🇭 Switzerland | 00:00–05:00; 22:00–24:00 | >3.5t | All public roads | Very limited (urgent medical, military only) |
| 🇫🇷 France | 22:00–24:00 | >7.5t | All roads nationwide | Perishable goods, livestock, fuel, humanitarian |
| 🇭🇷 Croatia | 15:00–23:00 | >7.5t or trailers >14m | Selected main roads & motorways | Perishable goods, live animals, fuel |
| 🇭🇺 Hungary | 22:00–24:00 | >7.5t | All public roads | Perishable goods, live animals, vignette transit |
| 🇱🇮 Liechtenstein | 00:00–05:00; 22:00–24:00 | >3.5t | All roads | Very limited (follows Swiss rules) |
| 🇱🇺 Luxembourg | 21:30–24:00; 23:30–24:00 | >7.5t | All roads (direction-specific) | Perishable goods, fuel |
| 🇵🇱 Poland | 18:00–22:00 | >12t | All public roads | Perishable goods, live animals, combined transport, fuel, humanitarian |
Saturday peak: Austria's 15:00 start is the earliest major daytime ban; drivers must exit motorways by 14:45. Poland's Friday-evening pre-holiday ban (18:00–22:00) catches late-day departures. Bulgaria's four-hour afternoon window (16:00–20:00) is tighter than most; plan a rest stop before 16:00 or after 20:00.
Sunday, 21 June
| Country | Time | Applies to | Roads | Exemptions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇦🇹 Austria | 00:00–22:00 | >7.5t | All motorways & expressways | Perishable goods, live animals, combined transport |
| 🇪🇭 Switzerland | 00:00–24:00 | >3.5t | All public roads | Very limited (urgent medical, military) |
| 🇨🇿 Czech Republic | 13:00–22:00 | >7.5t or >3.5t with trailer | Motorways, expressways, 1st class roads | Perishable goods, live animals, fuel, postal, combined transport |
| 🇩🇪 Germany | 00:00–22:00 | >7.5t | All federal roads & motorways | Fresh food, mail, empty containers, combined transport |
| 🇫🇷 France | 00:00–22:00 | >7.5t | All roads nationwide | Perishable goods, livestock, fuel, humanitarian |
| 🇭🇷 Croatia | 14:00–23:00 | >7.5t or trailers >14m | Selected main roads & motorways | Perishable goods, live animals, fuel, humanitarian |
| 🇭🇺 Hungary | 00:00–22:00 | >7.5t | All public roads | Perishable goods, live animals, transit with vignette |
| 🇮🇹 Italy | 07:00–22:00 | >7.5t | All roads outside urban areas | Perishable goods, live animals, fuel, ATP certificate vehicles |
| 🇱🇮 Liechtenstein | 00:00–24:00 | >3.5t | All roads | Very limited (Swiss rules) |
| 🇱🇺 Luxembourg | 00:00–21:45 | >7.5t | All roads | Perishable goods, fuel |
| 🇵🇱 Poland | 08:00–22:00 | >12t | All public roads | Perishable goods, live animals, combined transport, fuel, humanitarian, empty vehicles |
| 🇷🇴 Romania | 06:00–22:00 | >7.5t | National roads DN1, DN7, selected highways | Perishable goods, dangerous goods (ADR), TEN-T transit |
| 🇸🇮 Slovenia | 08:00–22:00 | >7.5t | Motorways & expressways | Perishable goods, live animals, dangerous goods (ADR) |
| 🇸🇰 Slovakia | 00:00–22:00 | >7.5t or >3.5t with trailer | All roads | Perishable goods (limited 00:00–06:00), live animals, fuel, combined transport |
Sunday is the most restrictive day of the week across Europe: 14 countries implement full-day or extended bans (00:00–22:00 or longer). The Alpine corridor — Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein — is closed entirely: no vehicles >3.5t permitted in Switzerland or Liechtenstein any hour on Sunday. Germany and France close their federal systems 00:00–22:00. Central European transit routes through Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, and Slovenia all ban >7.5t trucks (or combinations) for 8–22 hours. Plan Sunday departures carefully: depart Saturday evening (before 22:00 bans in most countries) or delay until Monday morning.
Country-by-Country Rules & Penalties
🇦🇹 Austria
Weight threshold: >7.5t | Roads: All motorways and expressways (Autobahnen & Schnellstraßen, including A12 Inntal & A13 Brenner) | Recurring pattern: Saturdays 15:00–24:00, Sundays & public holidays 00:00–22:00, nightly 22:00–05:00 | Penalties: €150–€5,000
Exemptions: Perishable goods, live animals, combined transport, vehicles in direct transit to/from rail terminals
🇧🇬 Bulgaria
Weight threshold: >12t | Roads: Highways and I & II class national roads | Recurring pattern: Public holidays all day; day before holidays 16:00–20:00; day after holidays 14:00–20:00 (uses Orthodox Easter calendar) | Penalties: BGN 500–2,000
Exemptions: Perishable goods, live animals, military, diplomatic vehicles
🇨🇿 Czech Republic
Weight threshold: >7.5t (or >3.5t with trailer) | Roads: Motorways, expressways, and 1st class roads | Recurring pattern: Sundays & public holidays 13:00–22:00; Fridays 17:00–21:00 (Jul–Aug); pre-holiday days 13:00–22:00 | Penalties: CZK 5,000–100,000
Exemptions: Perishable goods, live animals, fuel, postal deliveries, combined transport
🇩🇪 Germany
Weight threshold: >7.5t | Roads: All federal roads and motorways (Bundesstraßen & Autobahnen) | Recurring pattern: Sundays & public holidays 00:00–22:00; summer Ferienreiseverordnung (Jul–Aug): Saturdays 07:00–20:00 on selected motorways | Penalties: €75–€525
Exemptions: Fresh food, mail, empty containers returning to base, combined transport
🇫🇷 France
Weight threshold: >7.5t | Roads: All roads nationwide | Recurring pattern: Saturdays 22:00–Sunday 22:00 (weekends); holiday eves 22:00–24:00; extended bans on Grands Départs (peak summer travel) | Penalties: €135–€750
Exemptions: Perishable goods, livestock, fuel, humanitarian shipments
🇭🇷 Croatia
Weight threshold: >7.5t (or trailers >14m) | Roads: Selected main roads and motorways | Recurring pattern: Sundays & public holidays 14:00–23:00; pre-holiday days 15:00–23:00; Good Friday and Holy Saturday 15:00–23:00 | Penalties: HRK 3,000–15,000
Exemptions: Perishable goods, live animals, fuel, humanitarian transport
🇭🇺 Hungary
Weight threshold: >7.5t | Roads: All public roads | Recurring pattern: Sundays & public holidays 06:00–22:00 (April–September); pre-holiday Saturdays 22:00–Sunday 22:00 | Penalties: HUF 30,000–300,000
Exemptions: Perishable goods, live animals, vehicles in transit with valid Hungarian motorway vignette
🇮🇹 Italy
Weight threshold: >7.5t | Roads: All roads outside urban areas (extraurbane) | Recurring pattern: Sundays & public holidays typically 09:00–22:00 (winter) or 07:00–22:00 (summer); pre-holidays often 14:00–22:00 or 16:00–22:00 | Penalties: €419–€1,682
Exemptions: Perishable goods, live animals, fuel, newspapers, postal deliveries, vehicles with valid ATP certificate
🇱🇮 Liechtenstein
Weight threshold: >3.5t | Roads: All roads (follows Swiss rules) | Recurring pattern: Sundays & public holidays 00:00–24:00 (full day); nightly 22:00–05:00 | Penalties: CHF equivalent fines
Exemptions: Same as Switzerland — very limited (urgent medical, military only)
🇱🇺 Luxembourg
Weight threshold: >7.5t | Roads: All roads (direction-specific bans on border corridors: towards Germany, France, Belgium) | Recurring pattern: Sundays & public holidays with varying times per border direction | Penalties: €50–€500
Exemptions: Perishable goods, fuel
🇵🇱 Poland
Weight threshold: >12t | Roads: All public roads | Recurring pattern: Sundays & public holidays 08:00–22:00; pre-holiday Saturdays 18:00–22:00; summer (Jun–Sep) Friday 18:00–22:00 and Saturday 08:00–14:00 | Penalties: PLN 500–10,000
Exemptions: Perishable goods, live animals, combined transport, fuel, mail, humanitarian aid, empty vehicles returning to base. Note: Poland's >12t threshold is one of the most permissive in Europe — lighter trucks (7.5–12t) are not banned on Polish roads.
🇷🇴 Romania
Weight threshold: >7.5t | Roads: National roads DN1, DN7, and selected highways | Recurring pattern: Weekends & public holidays (uses Orthodox Easter calendar; Good Friday since 2018); summer Fridays (additional restrictions) | Penalties: RON 3,000–9,000
Exemptions: Perishable goods, dangerous goods with valid ADR, vehicles in international transit on TEN-T corridors
🇸🇮 Slovenia
Weight threshold: >7.5t | Roads: Motorways and expressways | Recurring pattern: Sundays & public holidays 08:00–21:00; pre-holiday days from 14:00 | Penalties: €500–€2,000
Exemptions: Perishable goods, live animals, dangerous goods with valid ADR
🇸🇰 Slovakia
Weight threshold: >7.5t (or >3.5t with trailer) | Roads: All roads | Recurring pattern: Sundays & public holidays 00:00–22:00; pre-holiday Saturdays when followed by holiday | Penalties: €150–€1,500
Exemptions: Perishable goods and combined transport (limited 00:00–06:00 exemption); live animals, fuel. Limited general exemption during night hours.
🇪🇭 Switzerland
Weight threshold: >3.5t (one of Europe's strictest) | Roads: All public roads nationwide | Recurring pattern: Sundays & public holidays 00:00–24:00 (full 24-hour closure); nightly 22:00–05:00 every day | Penalties: CHF 100–10,000
Exemptions: Very limited — urgent medical supplies and military only. Most commercial cargo has NO exemption. Plan Sunday transits through other countries.
Plan Your Route — Key Timing Strategies
1. Saturday departures: Leave before 14:45 if heading through Austria (ban starts 15:00), or plan to stop in a truck park until Monday morning. Poland's 18:00 Friday-evening window catches early Saturday starts — depart very early or wait until 22:01.
2. Sunday is a wall: 14 countries restrict >7.5t trucks for most or all of Sunday. Avoid Sunday transit entirely through the Alpine and Central European corridors. Depart Saturday by late evening (check each country's exact cutoff) or delay to Monday 06:00+.
3. Weight thresholds vary: If your vehicle is 8–12t, you can legally operate in Poland (>12t threshold) when banned in most other countries. Plan southern/eastern routes via Poland if the Alpine corridor is closed. Conversely, if you're under 3.5t, you are exempt in Switzerland — but most HGVs exceed this.
4. Rest area strategy: Book truck parkings during ban hours. Most major European rest stops fill by 21:00 on Saturday evenings. Use the nakordoni parkings map (19,000+ locations) to pre-book or identify safe waiting spots near borders.
Useful Tools for Truck Drivers
- Interactive Traffic Bans Calendar — full ban schedule with country filters and exemption lookup
- Live Traffic Incidents Map — real-time road closures, accidents, and delays across Europe
- Truck Parkings Map (19,000+) — find safe parking during ban hours, with ratings and facilities
- Speed Cameras (48,000+) — radar and fixed camera locations across all countries
- European Vignettes & Tolls — e-vignette prices for 9 countries (Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, etc.)
- Truck Drivers Portal — all tools and current bans in one place
- European Holidays Calendar — public holidays affecting truck bans
Source: nakordoni.eu — Truck Traffic Bans Calendar | Updated: 15.06.2026