A tractor unit without a semi-trailer may travel in Germany despite the driving ban

Germany’s Sunday driving ban does not apply to every journey made by a tractor unit. If the vehicle is travelling without a semi-trailer, it may legally operate even when its gross vehicle weight exceeds 7.5 tonnes.

The question of whether a tractor unit may travel on its own during Sunday and public holiday driving bans in Germany regularly arises among transport operators. Uncertainty is particularly common when the vehicle has a high permissible gross vehicle weight but is travelling without a semi-trailer.
German regulations impose driving bans on Sundays and public holidays for trucks with a gross vehicle weight exceeding 7.5 tonnes, as well as for trucks with trailers. The ban applies from 00:00 to 22:00 across the entire road network.
In practice, however, a tractor unit travelling without a semi-trailer is not subject to the Sunday driving ban.

This interpretation has been confirmed by Germany’s Federal Office for Logistics and Mobility (BALM), which states that a tractor unit without a connected semi-trailer is not regarded, for the purposes of Section 30(3) of the German Road Traffic Regulations (StVO), as a vehicle engaged in the transport of goods. This means that even a tractor unit with a gross vehicle weight exceeding 7.5 tonnes may travel on German roads during Sunday or public holiday driving bans, provided that it is not towing a semi-trailer.
For example, a two-axle tractor unit with a gross vehicle weight of 20 tonnes travelling without a semi-trailer may legally operate in Germany on a Sunday that is otherwise subject to truck traffic restrictions.
It is precisely the vehicle classification that most often causes confusion. Many transport operators and drivers equate a tractor unit with a truck, although for the purposes of the German driving ban they are not treated in the same way.

Driving bans in Germany