Speeding ticket in Germany
 

After getting photographed speeding through Dusseldorf, I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. So first Avis notified me of the ticket and a service fee from Avis (it was 11 or 12 Euro). Okay. Now I have received a notice from some official authority in Germany. I have no idea what it says, but there seems to be no info re: a fine or payment.

Anybody here have any experience with something like this?

I got pulled over once in Germany in my Avis car. I think I was doing 200 something in a 130 zone on the autobahn. But since I was a foreigner, all they did was charge my Amex for 500 Marks and let me go. If I was an EU citizen I might have been in more trouble.

Anyhow, I recommend you have someone translate your document to see what you should do. Or go to altavista.com/babelfish and do it yourself.

Have contributed twice to Germany via photo/radar. 1st time police car caught up w/ me and took me to local station to pay up. Other one there was a police car along road that stopped me- paid fine there,and that was it- no repercussions on your US drivers liscense.

I am slightly puzzled why you consider yourself "lucky" ...500 marks is pretty darn expensive. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif I think they gave you a nice juicy "tourist rate", if you know what I mean http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

Dartboard,

I am German (with some speeding ticket experience http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif), feel free to email me with a scan or copy of the document and I will happily translate for you.

Cheers
J

Hi dartboard

I need your email address :-)

If I had been an EU citizen, they would have confiscated my license. I considered myself lucky that I got to keep my drivers license.

See my earlier thread. I haven't received anything in the mail and it's been about 6 weeks since notification.

Funny thing, I emailed the contact person at Avis and got the 11 Euro fee reversed. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

500 marks for doing 200 in a 130 zone is dirt cheap. What would you pay in the US for being 45 mph ABOVE the limit?

Well, this country is ridiculous. Here in Virginia it is automatically "reckless driving" if you drive 80 mph even when the speed limit is 65 mph (max in this state). This requires a court appearance.

You might wind up in jail at 45 mph+. A court appearance would be mandatory in any state. A friend of mine did 130 mph in a 65 mph and got into a lot of trouble. He managed to get away with a $500 fine -- it was not in his home state.

I spent several hours in traffic court in VA because I was late and, of course, my case was one of the first, so had to wait for everyone else to finish. Toward the end they had "serious" cases where the accused had counsel: a young professional who got his third "reckless driving" ticket. The violation was at 3 a.m. nonetheless....

He was sentenced to 1 month in jail and handcuffed. 28 days were suspended and his pathetic lawyer convinced him to not to appeal as long as he was allowed to do it on a weekend! I was really upset by all this.....

Not true.

any recent experiences with getting a speeding ticket in germany?

Did you get one?
Wanting to compare fines? ;)

:( I'm afraid so but I did smile and say cheese to the camera :D

Will Avis send me something or will they just charge my CC ?

:)

cheers,

Henry

Actually I think this thread is fine for his question.
Shows he searched and it is exactly the same topic.