Hello,

This situation happened some weeks ago but I wanted to share it with you as it was a bit odd and I'm wondering if someone else experienced the same.

I was driving with my family from Basel to Freiburg on Saturday. We were driving on the left line while on the right we passed one black Mercedes.

I usually pay no attention to the cars we pass by but for some reason I looked at that card which was on a German plates and I noticed two guys looking like Turkish-Germans...

Once we passed them and took their line they suddenly approached us with their car and started the lighting show + horn signals like someone who would like to catch your attention. This show ended up after about 30 seconds when other cars appeared in the area. We drove away but while driving away I haven't noticed that behavior to the other cars which were around that Mercedes after us.

So basically nothing happened but I was a bit worried about the entire situation. Does this happened to someone too? Isn't strange?

There is no testing for sanity when applying for the driving license....

I had a similar bad experience on foot about 20 years ago, I reported them to the local police.

There are scammers on A4 hwy in Poland, close to German border, but with German license plates, where, if you stop, they'll tell you a story of forgotten documents/whatever and ask you for some help in cash giving in exchange some "golden" jewelry. The ethnicity of the ones I saw and read reports of was Roma. They usually target cars on foreign license plates.

Yes, had that experience recently on A4 in Poland. Suddenly when I passed them they started the same show with light+horn etc. I didn't stop but it was really looking strange as one car was on a German plates and the three others on Belarus.

The situation which I have described in my first post happened in Germany just few weeks after my experience in Poland. It's happening more and more I guess...

Must say I find it strange that you left it a few weeks before discussing this- and 1 year since you last posted here

It is a very common occurrence in parts of Spain and Italy- but never heard ot it here. Often a small hole made into a tyre of a rental car- then 1 car comes along as soon as on Mway out of town signals to you wou have a problem- you get all your stuff out of the car to get to spare wheel and change, then 2nd car comes along and steels your bags. Happened to friends of mine near Napoli last year- they were so upset they returned to the airport and got on the next flight back to UK.

I think people being very keen to blame immigrants, especially Southeastern Europeans like the Roma and Turks, has indeed been happening more, but I'm not sure the incidents themselves are on the up. I've been waved down when on a motorbike and offered a 'gold ring' as security against a loan for petrol as long ago as fifteen years in the West of France, and perhaps ten years back in France near Basel.

More recently I've had someone try it on several times in supermarket car parks in St. Louis, one time even giving me the ring claiming to have found it on the ground and only afterwards giving it the spiv spry, presumably assuming I would think I could sell the ring for a profit. I foiled his plan by insisting on taking it to the desk in the supermarket, and could see he was fuming.

But anyway, it's nothing new, and although I abhor the racial stereotyping, it has always been men of the above-described appearance, speaking fluent but poor French which may, or may not, be indicative of a Romanian background. It's very sad though that reporting of things like this always seems to increase on the back of a more general anti-eastern sentiment, be it based on pseudo-religious or simply xenophobic grounds.

I read today another post about fake Policeman near Basel and I wanted to share my story... I don't post everything which I have experienced in my life right after it happens...

Not counting the other 36 posts he's made in the past year

Did you pull in too early? Driving with your fog lights on? Your kid flipped them off? :-)

Where you in the fast lane? I've had that happen on the autobahn to Munich, but it was a supercar going over 200KPH, trying to get me out of his way.

None of those, here an reenactment of the events:

Nope - but if that would be case I would kindly move out and continue my Swiss 120 Km/h way