German Speeding!

[slap]

Hi all, I toured through Germany last year & in a hasty moment I got folling a fast German plated VW golf who looked like he knew the road. In this few miles of madness I got the feel of the long arm of the German law. The car driver got a fist full of paper work & a very sheepish look on his face. Both my mate & myself got a on the spot fine & a ticket to show our offence.
200€ lighter we continued on with the rest of the tour & forgot about it. Being it now 8 months on & after getting the 3rd letter from the German authorities I decided to use Google translate to see what the letters were about. After the online translation it seams the German authorities are still awaiting my license to be sent to them for a ban to be implemented (like that's going to happen) & I will be apprehended if I cross onto their border..!
Has anyone encountered this with the German law?
Goes without saying my 2016 tour is going no where near German soil, Spain & Portugal here I come..!

[Tmation]

Last summer my mate was in Germany (Harz) for a week before meeting up with me in Belgium. He got done for speeding and also (on a separate occasion) for filtering, I wasn't even aware that it s not allowed in Germany  .


Anyway he has had loads of letters form Germany for exactly the same thing, he also paid on the spot fines.


As far as I know he has ignored them too, but I believe they have changed the rules on this sort of thing recently and they can add points to your licence (good old EU). Next time I speak to him I will ask if anything further has happened.

[sadlonelygit]

Revocation of a foreign driving permit German driving laws allow for two different kinds of driving bans in Germany. In the case of a temporary driving ban, the driver’s licence will be revoked as a penalty for a period of up to three months. Afterwards, the holder reacquires it. This procedure is also legitimate with a foreign driver’s permit.
Even if someone is in Germany for just a short time – as a tourist for example – and is punished with a driving ban, the traffic offender cannot unmake it by leaving Germany without complying with the penalty, because the offender can be charged with driving without a licence upon re-entry into Germany, if the person is driving a car. This is a criminal offence by German law which is punished with a fine or even a prison sentence of up to one year.
A permanent driving ban for the holder of a foreign driver’s licence is regulated by section 69b in the StGB (German criminal code). It states that the preliminary permission to operate a vehicle in Germany with a foreign driving permit is revoked with the driving ban. Furthermore, it is not possible to get a German driving licence within a retention period set by the authorities.




so basically if you EVER go back to Germany and get stopped it's off to chokey for you.


send off your license, get it on their system, get it over with and all is well.....................must have been going for it btw

[sadlonelygit]

…41 - 50 km/h	€ 160		1 month
…51 - 60 km/h	€ 240		1 month
…61 - 70 km/h	€ 440		2 months
> 70 km/h	€ 600		3 months

[celticdog]

   You're a wanted man in Germany now Slap! Let's hope the EU Gestapo don't make it over to Blighty . . . The best defence is to stay out of range.

[chris.biker]

I can guess which way Slap is going to vote in the EU in or out referendum.
 

[cable tie]

3 bods on another forum have just received a fine each thro the post from Austria for 12km over the limit .

Seems tear arsing around Europe is looking risky now, the amount of times I've been flashed and just ignored it may be a thing of the past, I will deffo think about it for future trips.

[slap]

Thanks for all the info guys. I have sadly misplaced the last letter from Germany, think I last saw it passing thro the shredder... D'oh!
Maybe I will send off my licence with the next letter, not before I've got a replacement licence from the DVLA & send off the older one to Germany then if it doesn't return won't matter too much.
I'm steering well clear of Germany for now & maybe in 2017 as well..!

Oh & yeah the speed got a bit silly, Romantic Strassa indeed!

[joebloggs]

Not sure if this is completely correct but a squadie friend of mine, posted in Germany was given a one month ban for speeding, he had to tell the court when he wanted the ban to start, giving him time to seek alternative transport for work etc before they took his licence away.
Typical German efficiency

[slap]

Cheers joebloggs, I think I need to research this a bit more & not just brush it off, as I would like to re-tour thro Germany at some point.

[tommyardin]

Hey Slap!
I thought the last time you saw that letter it was going down the shitter.

[slap]

Yes Tommyardin, the letter is well gone, but I have the notion I will get another in time to come, just a bit of forward thinking!

[lew600fazer]

Tell them you were being chased by a bunch of refugees and you thought they were going to rape you.
I was not aware the Germans could endorse a British licence, I thought they could only request the DVLA to endorse it???

[fazersharp]

Yet foreign drivers here get away with it http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/foreign-drivers/
Did I read somewhere that after 3 months of living here or something then a foreign driver has to register here.

[sadlonelygit]

I was not aware the Germans could endorse a British licence, I thought they could only request the DVLA to endorse it???

they don't endorse it, they register the details with the german equivalent of DVLA who then ban him from riding in germany for the designated period.
iirc you can get banned from driving in any country.......except thailand perhaps.

[fazersharp]

So I could get banned there for three months today but im not visiting again until - lets say June so that's it my ban will be over when I go.

[slap]

Think I will have to take some action on the next letter, like one or two of you have said better to get it done with now while I've no plans to return this year.
Think I will have to reign it in from now on as the European wide enforcement will come into force at some point..!

[fazersharp]

Let Nigel sort it

[fireblake]

In 2015 I was flashed by a static camera whilst driving a hired BMW M3, I was driving with my Nephew who was living and working in the Munich area.  As he had hired the car he got the original letter followed by a tap on the door to check him out against the grinning mad man in the photo. Anyway eventually I get a letter asking for €150 contribution toward the Polizei Christmas party. As I was still in a good mood I thought it was worth it for the fun I had in the car. Anyway, a few weeks later I get another letter, I tried Google translater but it wouldn't work so I took it to a friend who  used to live in Germany. He really didn't have a clue what it said so I put it away in the bin. A few more letters arrived and eventually I gave it to a friend who had a Germany working in his office. He said I was due a refund of the full amount but there was a claim before date which had now passed. Alas I couldn't now claim my money back but still think the ticket was worth the fun I had.
I can't remember how much over the limit I was but the car regularly hit 275kph. I do know that I hadn't been nicked on the unrestricted area but I found out later that there are areas where you have to be a bit more gentle with the loud pedal. No points though so live and learn


Mickey

[slap]

I still have the Google translate text I did & here it is in German:-

wie ihnen bereits mitgeteilt wurde, liegt gegen Sie ein rechtskräftiger Bußgeldbescheid mit einem wirksamen Fahrverbot vor. Sie haben trotz wiederholter besteht nach wie vor. Wir fordern Sie deshalb nochmals auf, ihren Führerschein umgehend der Zentralen Bußgeldstelle zuzusenden, damit das Fahrverbot vollzogen werden kann. Wir weisen Sie darauf hin, daß die Zentrale Bußgeldstelle die entsprechende Polizeidienststelle des jeweiligen Grenzüberganges über das bestehende Fahrverbot informiert, so daß Ihr Führerschein bei einem Grenzübertritt kostenpflichtig beschlagnahmtwird. Es liegt deshalb in Ihrem eigenen Interesse, unserer Aufforderung unverzüglich Folge zu leisten.

& googled translated:-

as you have been informed, is against a legally binding penalty notice with an effective ban before. They have, despite repeated still exists. We therefore ask again to, send their driver's license immediately to the central fine point so that the ban can be accomplished. We point out that the central point penalty the appropriate law enforcement agency of the relevant border crossing via the existing ban informed, so that your license fee is seized at a border crossing. It is therefore in your own interest to make our request without delay.

Somehow I don't think it's a refund, but if any of you chaps can tell me different please do! I will gladly take the 200€ back & spend it in Portugal..!

[hotmetal]

Unfortunately mate that says "as you know, we've busted you for a fine and a ban. We've written to you loads of times but you've ignored the letters. We're writing to you again to ask you to send your licence to the German dvla so we can put the ban on your licence. The border police are aware and if you enter Germany we'll confiscate your licence and fine you so it's in your own interest to do what we say without delay.

Also known as:
Ve haf vays of making you walk. 

Definitely not a refund - sorry bud!

[slap]

Very good 'hotmetal' that made me chuckle... yeah I think they will be making me revert to the "shanks ponies"... Next letter I will do something about it as last one was missplaced (through the shredder).
Think the confusing part is that the patrol officer said that it was only a fine & that once paid the matter was closed. Bet the gestapo at head quarters had different ideas once they processed the paper work...!

[slap]

Update for anyone interested...

I have emailed "Ride" magazine who I subscribe to, for their opinion on this, they have advised me to contact the DVLA as that is who holds the info on our licences. I did so & a very informative chap said that no foreign country can endorse a UK licence & if the foreign authorities ask the DVLA they will not pass on info to them. He said that he has no information on this ever changing, basically if you offend in the foreign country it stays there.
Armed with this information & also further advised by "Ride" I have wrote a letter to the German driver agency saying that; I have paided their fine for the offence & since leaving Germany in May I have not used their roads since, so have endured more than a month ban that they wish to endorse my licence with. I have also stated that the DVLA have stated that no foreign country can endorse a UK licence. Also as a foot note I have asked them to write to me in English as I do not speak or read German. Then I have "Google Translated" the lot into German.

It was posted yesterday (15/01/2016) & will see what happens with that...!

[sadlonelygit]

FFS!
are you hard of thinking!
The German authorities do NOT want to endorse your license but they do want to ban you from using THEIR roads for a period of time.
Until your license appears on their system and has done the required ban you will be a criminal in Germany if you drive there.
You've already paid the fine so just dot the i's and cross the T's,  or do you just enjoy making a drama out of something straightforward.
FYI, fairly soon Europe WILL insist on cross border cooperation for motoring offences and any outstanding warrants will be transferred to the relevant authority who will have the power to ban you here. They are already trialling it in austria/germany/Holland.

[red98]

Good work slap  ....I would be very interested in their reply.....if you get one , which, somehow I dont think you will