Normally, if you drive in Germany over a ten-year period.....you will accumulate a couple of 'points' on your driver's record. Speeding is typically the worst one, with you speeding 21 kph over the limit....getting you a point (if caught). 41 kph over the limit....gets you two points. Note, this is on the country roads, not in urban areas.
At the six point level (in a year), you end up losing your license for around 90 days, and have to attend two 90-minute seminars in that period....before you get your license back.
Some Germans will proudly tell you that they've managed twenty years without a single point. Some will wink and admit that they come close every single year to the 5-point level.
I noticed in today's news that a German down in the Pfalz area ended up with documentation in Flensburg (where the point-guys reside) with 373 points (in one year). How? Well, he was some type of professional chauffeur, and had documented at least 150 'days' where he'd driven, but had not acquired a German license. His defense? He had an Italian license.....which had apparently run out (invalid).
What the cops are talking about with this guy? Well....there's some type of massive fine in the works, but they are even talking about some time in jail.
His vehicle? The cops came and confiscated it (nice looking newer SUV).
He might be lucky to just claim incompetence and the judge just agrees on no jail, and no driving for ten years.
3 comments:
Sheesh, I mean I don't actually think the license expiring should be an issue. It's not as though the day after your license expires you wake up having forgotten all knowledge of driving and experience of the fact. But to rack up so many speeding/red light cameras? That should land you in jail for a bit. To have such disregard for the safety of others can't really just be dismissed, can it?
In this guy's story....because this was a business operation (chauffeur related), he actually documented everything for tax purposes (something you have to do). Somewhere down the line, he got stopped and this out-of-country license comes up, and it's way out of date (no reason given). For the cops, this is a blatant disregard for the driver's code. It's not like he just moved here last month and started working. So each day that he went out on this 'job'...that was a point. Because he documented everything....he screwed himself. The cops went by the code, and the points added up. If this had been 10 to 15 points...it was bad enough, but going up over hundred? That's probably an all-time record, and not a single one (it seems) for speeding (thats really the funny part of the story). I'd beg off for a hefty fine (in the 15k Euro range) and hope the judge just says a year or two without the license. Total waste of jail for this guy, and at least he seemed to be employed, and paying taxes.
Yeah, it seems very arbitrary. I can understand some leniency for ignorance in these sorts of cases. There's a lot of strange rules here that don't make sense to most foreigners, and whilst living here you need to abide by the rules, surely the authorities can understand that some rules come as a complete shock to foreigners and let them off with a warning.
It's not like it's a violent crime where you shouldn't be able to claim ignorance.
Post a Comment