Saturday, April 27, 2019

Wedding Party Episode Continues On

Back around the last week of March, I essayed a piece on a autobahn 'slowdown' up in northern Germany, which was triggered by a Turkish wedding party.  The intent of the group was to block off the autobahn, giving an opportunity to photograph the wedding couple (I assume standing there on the autobahn), and creating havoc with other drivers.  At the time, cops were referring to this as a dangerous and illegal act.

Well....today, if you follow German regional news....the Düsseldorf police have put together a investigation commission (commonly called a 'EK'), which is set on this episode from Autobahn 3 (over near Ratingen). 

What the authorities are saying is that some folks are already on the list, and a couple of more are being pursued in some manner.  It's no longer just a small investigative matter.....it's now made it to the state-level.  Orders to appear in front of a state-judge?  It now appears very likely.

This blocking of autobahns....it's pretty well defined in the German driving laws, and the minute you suggest actions that threaten the safety of the general public....the odds of losing your license for a year are fairly near 100-percent, with a hefty fine, and real potential for at least a couple of months in some state-jail. 

The curious thing is that this wedding-party trend (seen mostly all with only Turks) has been increasing around the country.  The firing of pistols in the air?  In metropolitan areas, it's a fairly documented event now.  Cops will identify the culprits....seize the weapons....and send a summons to appear in court.  Yet none of this seems to diminish the actions. 

These characters in the Ratingen episode?  They will likely need pricey-lawyers and will be lucky if they just lose their license and pay the hefty fine involved. 

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