Speeding Ticket Statute of Limitations
 

I'm new to the web site, I've tried searching for related threads, no luck, so I apologize if this is a recurring theme for topics.

I was stationed near Wurzburg, Germany back in 1999 driving an Avis rental (german plates) while I was out-processing to get out of the Army (2-3 days from permanent return to the U.S.). In the Wurzburg outskirts, I got flashed by an unidentified (no advance warning) speed camera on a rural road. There were no Polizei around to pay on the spot, so I keep trucking on. I was probably doing 15-20mph over the limit.
About six months after I arrived to the states, I received a notice of my speeding ticket in the mail. Speaking to some of my coworkers, they advised not to worry about it; chances are unlikely I’d need to return to Germany, and I agreed. Additional piece of information is that I didn't even know what my U.S. address would be prior to leaving Germany, so I'm not clear how the Polizei found me. Perhaps the folks shipping my household goods from base to the states? No idea.
Fast-forward to today, 16.5 years later, I’m being put in a position where I’m going to have to travel to Germany on a regular basis, and rent/drive vehicles. A big part of me thinks “16.5 years have gone by…statute of limitations will have caused this issue to go away by now.” Small part of me worries “If I get nailed by a cop for speeding, and they find an unpaid fine that’s been disregarded for this long, they’re going to fine the hell out of me.”, causing me a lot of embarrassment within the company.
So my question to you folks is: should I not worry about it due to the statute of limitations, or should I be proactive and address it?
My leaning toward option 1 (disregarding) is also based on the fact that I never acknowledged I had received the fine. I never responded. I can effectively play dumb, but the law doesn’t always factor ignorance into the equation.
Any relevant suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

Avis must have forwarded your details to the authorities when they got the speeding ticket.

I have no clue how long speeding tickets are kept track of. It also depends if it was an 'ordnungswidrigkeit' issued by a local town/county or if it was a serious enough violation that the police and the central register in Flensburg got involved.

As you may be aware, cops in Germany don't pull you over or lurk in some corner to catch/chase speeding vehicles and book them on the spot like its commonplace in the US. They have better things to do. Sometime cops will set up speed traps and either watch the equipment do the job or measure your speed with laser guns. In the latter case they sometimes have a setup to stop violators a few hundred yards down the road and process them on the spot. Foreigners from countries with which Germany doesn't have judicial treaties (like the US) usually get charged on the spot and have to pay the fine in cash. These kind of traps are quite rare and shouldn't bother you when following traffic laws. :)

PS: welcome to FT ^

Thank you, Oliver, I appreciate it.

No, you mustn´t be worry. You can´t get responsible for it any more since at least 2003. Speeding with 15-20 km/h (miles also) isn´t a big thing in Germany. Even if it would have been last month you don´t have a reason to be worried;)

You are worrying way too much. Forget about stuff like statute of limitations, even if you got a speeding ticket three months ago the border police wouldn't know or care about it. The only people who realistically care is the local police department and municipality. I have many German speeding tickets sent to my drivers license address over the years....

Terrific, this is just the advice I was hoping for. Thanks very kindly for the help, folks.

Oh, and a belated welcome to FT, ChinookMech1974!

Bad guy:D

Ja ja, what shall I say? :(:eek:

Speeding Ticket Statute of Limitations
 

According to US Army, statue most likely ran out a long time ago (3-4 years).

http://www.eur.army.mil/21TSC/SJA/LegalAssist/Areas-Civilian%20Legal%20Issues/01-1-DUI.DOC