Speeding tickets in Germany
During a trip to Germany in May, I accrued (unknowingly) three speeding tickets from automated ticketing cameras throughout the picturesque countryside. The reason I know that the tickets exist is because of the three letters I received from the rental car company informing me that they will be levying a fee on my credit card, 20 euros for each ticket, for the service of passing along my address in the United States to the respective ticketing agencies. That was at the beginning of July.
Now, more than three months after the violation occurred, I have yet to see any mail regarding these tickets. Do I have any obligation that I'm not fulfilling by just waiting for the tickets to arrive? Will I be blamed for paying them late? Is there a way to pay a ticket that you haven't seen?
Out of curiosity, not because I want to utilize this route, what happens if I don't pay them? What leverage can the ticketing agency apply to get me to pay them? Would that prevent me from renting a car? anywhere or just in Germany?
Best Answer
I am German and I have been living in Austria and got a speeding ticket with a rental car when visiting my hometown. What happened was that the car rental company charged me 20€ to give away my details such as in your case. After a few weeks without hearing anything I contacted the rental company again asking for the proof for passing on the details and it seemed like they never did and came up with some problem in communication and so on.
As far as I know in Germany things like this get stored really long and you may want to follow up with your rental company to get the details they forwarded and to who. This will also be proof in a later case if an official will get back to you asking for why you didn´t respond or anything.
So I would do this and check for some sort of documents before feeling safe.
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What happens if I get a speeding ticket in Germany?
Traffic fines in Germany tend to be quite small. Fines for speeding start at 15 EUR in city limits and 10 EUR outside of city limits. Those small fines are for exceeding the speed limit up to 10 km/h and hour. Speeding up to 20 km/h only results in a fine of 35 EUR and 30 EUR respectively.How many speeding tickets can you get before your license is suspended in Germany?
In Germany, once a driver accumulates four to five points, he or she will receive a warning, along with information about the points system. With six to seven points, a driver must attend two 90-minute seminars within three months of notification. With eight or more points, the driver's license is revoked.Is speeding is legal in Germany?
Speed limits are enforced with a small tolerance. Driving merely 3 km/h (2 mph) or faster above the posted or implied speed limit is considered a punishable infraction in Germany. The speeding fines are set by federal law (Bu\xdfgeldkatalog, schedule of fines).SPEEDING TICKETS IN GERMANY
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Answer 2
As long as the rental agency had your real address and you are reachable there you don't need to worry. If a ticket is issued (which is not certain based on your description – they might decide it's not worth it) it will be send to that address.
For most traffic violations (not all!) the relevant authority need to ensure a letter from them has reached you within three months of the violation. If that doesn't happen it can't be enforced. This is by § 26 Abs. 3 StVG and § 33 Abs. 1 S. 1 Nr. 9 OWiG. If there were special circumstances this could be extended for up to two years (§ 33 Abs. 3 S. 2 OWiG). Note that for severe violations including driving under influence and crimes longer deadlines apply.
Only in very exceptional circumstances (they can't find a place where they can contact you even after trying) a ticket can be validly issued without you knowing. In that case they will try to collect the fine next time they can (e.g. at the border).
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