In future, heavy goods transports will no longer be escorted by the police, but by private individuals as a rule. Since May 30, 2017, new rules have applied to the escorting of oversized and heavy goods transports. "The police officers who were tied up in these escorts now have time again to ensure people's safety," said Interior Minister Herbert Reul. The NRW police escort over 25,000 hazardous and heavy goods transports every year. The number has increased in recent years. These police operations cost a lot of time and personnel.

The framework for this sensible outsourcing of police tasks was provided by a joint project of the Ministry of Transport and the NRW Ministry of the Interior. Eleven district police authorities are taking part. Since the start of the project in 2014, these eleven authorities have had around 3,000 fewer transport escorts. This mainly relates to transports that are frequently repeated and almost identical - for example when transporting rotors for wind turbines. "Experience from the pilot project shows that road safety is guaranteed even without police intervention," explained Reul. The new regulations now make it possible for heavy goods transport to be accompanied by private individuals across the board. Private escorts also give freight transport greater flexibility. "This is of great importance for an industrial location like North Rhine-Westphalia," emphasized the Minister.

In order to ensure that these transports are carried out safely, the employees of the companies that accompany heavy goods transports are trained. The companies do an excellent job of escorting. They ensure road safety - professionally and prudently. As administrative assistants, they monitor compliance with the requirements set by the road traffic authorities for certain transports on certain routes. And they have access to the latest technology.

The changes mean a reorientation of the road traffic authorities' role in the approval process. In future, they will also have to issue traffic law orders for administrative assistants, which must then be implemented by private companies, particularly on recurring routes. They will be supported by the district police authorities during the transition period.