Why Passing a Truck at Roadworks Feels So Tight

From the video's description

Passing a truck at roadworks, the left lane feels far too tight. That's because it was never meant for most cars. In Germany, the width on the sign at the narrow left lane (often 2.0 m, sometimes up to 2.3 m) includes your mirrors. A VW Golf is 1.79 m wide, but 2.07 m with its mirrors, so it is 7 cm too wide for a 2 m lane. Almost 80% of new cars are wider than 2 m with their mirrors. Your registration document lists the width without mirrors, so check the full width before you pick the left lane. If in doubt, keep right.

Sources: StVO Anlage 2, sign 264 ("the actual width includes the vehicle's exterior mirrors"); ADAC, "Engpass Autobahnbaustelle: Viele Autos sind zu breit" (14.08.2026): car widths with and without mirrors, the share of new cars over 2 m, typical 2.00–2.30 m limits.

Schematic: the 3D scene is a reconstruction built in Blender. The left lane's width is illustrative.

3D models (CC BY 4.0)

• "Volkswagen Golf 8. GTI (A8)" by GT Cars: Hyperspeed
• "2016 Volkswagen Polo", "Ford Focus Sedan" by BHP3D
• "2023 bmw 3 series", "Mercedes Vito Utility Car" by solid3ddd
• "James Scania R440" by zairiq-123
• "Semi Trailer" by NoblecatSoft
• "Road Roller ARP 35", "Hitachi excavator", "Hyundai HL975A Wheel loader" by thesidekick
• "Concrete Road Barrier" by HardWireStudio
• "Mighty Oak Trees", "High Detail Elm Tree Collection" by Jagobo
• "Five Birch trees pack" by lolipop_1707
• "Porta Potty" by foon.
• "Fence | Wire mesh fence" by Every_3D
• "Construction Worker in High-Visibility Vest", "Construction Worker in Orange Safety Vest" by restore50
Your Golf: "Volkswagen Golf GTI (2025)" by geyges (Sketchfab Standard licence).
Road signs: official German StVO artwork (Wikimedia Commons, public domain). Textures, plants and sky: Poly Haven (CC0).
Sounds: kyles, JPBILLINGSLEYJR, rabbydaw (CC0, Freesound) and the channel's own.

Car makes and logos shown belong to their owners. Not affiliated with or endorsed by any of them.