Hi,

Need a bit of advice: I was recently zipping through Germany, on my way to Denmark, and I got busted by a speedo camera in Göttingen. In the initial letter from the Landkreis, it says I was doing 125km/h in a 100km/h zone, and seeing as they have a great picture of me, I guess there is nothing to argue.

However, what actually happens if I just ignore it? I think they want me to confirm some data, and return the filled-in forms, and then I'll get a ticket. I live in Switzerland, have a swiss license, and only go to Germany two/three times a year.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Surely if you know you were speeding, the best thing to do is Pay-Up

There was a report in Le Matin this week of a French driver flashed at 250 kph on the A12 in Fribourg. The article said in terms of cross border enforcement, Swiss and German police have a mutual cooperation agreement. The article didn't say how it's implemented.

According to this list, the fine for going 25 km/h over the limit is only EUR 40 ("21 - 25 km/h außerorts") in Germnany. I'm not very familiar with the German regulations, but I wouldn't risk any kind of serious trouble over 40 Euros. Be happy that you weren't caught in Switzerland, give them the information they want and pay the fine.

Hi,
this topic came in a very similar thread during the last week. For the sake of €40 I'd pay up, the German police might just forget it but somehow I doubt that.

Cheers

Have a look at this recent thread (also involving a Dane).

German speeding fines are relatively cheap, but due to go up next year.

innerorts - urban
ausserorts - rural

I'd pay up if I were you. You really don't need the hassle of being stopped for the non-payment of a fine next time you visit your family/friends back in Denmark.

two options exist:
1. pay up and relax
2. don't pay and see what happens. You will find out that they work together and you will lose.

Do keep us posted. Do remember - if you can't pay the fine, don't do the speed.

I think that the consensus would be to PAY UP AND GET ON WITH YOUR LIFE.

You might try not to pay the fine but if you ever get stopped in Germany for any reason (Police control etc.), your name will be on file. You then risk a night in a German jail and the cost of a lawyer to get you out.

Germany also has a agreement with CH for speeding fines (both ways - how do you think they got your home address!). As I am in the Swiss-French area I do not know all the details but I think that the Swiss are obliged to help the Germans track you down.

The longer you leave it (make them work), the more you will pay.

Good luck.

According to this article, the police forces of Switzerland's neighboring countries have the means to identify and pursue drivers who reside in Switzerland, and that they're working together with Swiss authorities to automate the process. For now, the chances to get away without fine are at least higher than for residents of the neighboring countries who speed in Switzerland.

The article was published in May 2007, and if the cooperation improved, I think it will be applied retroactively.

A friend of ours got done for speeding in Germany not long ago, and he as now 5 points on his license, and banned from driving in Germany for 1 month, (but he can still drive here in Switzerland) he his waiting to go to court to see how much he as to pay for the fine.

I would just pay the fine

OK, it sounds like the German police is cooperating with the Swiss. Everyone can get the name and address of a swiss driver on the internet, so the fact they have that, doesn't mean anything, but you are all right, I just need to pay up.

It just irks me that the so-called speed-limit free autobahn, actually has speed cameras. I don't mind slowing down when there is construction, or when there is lots of traffic. But, in this case, it was on a stretch where I was lucky not to have been going 175km/h. There was little, if any, traffic, and no exits, no construction, and it was on a three-lane autobahn.

So, I need to fill this in, send it off, and wait for a fine? How do I pay it, via bank transfer, or via credit card? Does anyone know?

Also, I guess it is still cheaper than my 15-20 swiss tickets

Speed Limits On Some Sections Of The Autobahns Are Either For Your Own Safety Or Reducing The Noise Level. There Are Warning Signs Ahead Of Cameras (radar...) Which One Should Not Ignore

that sux i went 72 in a 50 zone in canton vaud and was fined 600 franks
and then they send me a letter saying another 200 franks for the paper work
or 6 days behind bars
i should have booked myself in

In Germany, fewer and fewer sections of the autobahn are derestricted. It's no longer the speedway that we all once loved

Pay up is the best option, especially when it is cheap.

I totally disagree! I believe that cameras are put up as a money maker! It is a hidden taxation of the drivers. I see plenty of cameras hidden away, no warned about, and in places where there is no reason for driving slow.

I understand the in-city ones, the ones near construction, and the ones in dangerous curves etc., but the majority are not in these locations. And, as for the noise, who cares? The autobahns/highways have been there for a long time, and the majority of houses were built subsequently, so perhaps the house owners should be fined for being that stupid, to believe building near an autobahn would not bring about noise.

And, there is very little, if any, warning in Germany, and none in Switzerland, that there are cameras up ahead. At least in England they warn you in advance.

I think you deserve the fine...

Why warn you in advance that a speed trap is coming up? Why should static cameras have warning signs when mobile speed traps aren't advertised? What's the point of camera warning signs when there's already regular signs along the autoroute alerting you to the speed limit. Whether cameras are a stealth tax or not is a red herring. Anyway there's nothing hidden about the fines. You exceed the limit, you get caught, you get fined. What's stealthy about that? And would you rather have the UK points system where three minor speed tickets leads to your licence being suspended? For further thoughts on some of the other issues raised here see:

speeding...go to court?

The biggest issue I have with speed cameras is that the reasoning behind them is actually proven to be false - at least within the UK. (within Switzerland they make no bones about how much revenue they generate from "scameras") The justification was long touted to be the mantra "Speed kills". Just to be certain about this the UK government commissioned an analysis of the accident statistics. When the results came in they were surprising and quietly put to one side and ignored. The reason is that results showed that in a total of only 6.7% of all accident cases the direct cause was speed. Speed as an aggravating factor was also dismissed and again only accounted for a very low percentage. The overwhelming cause of accidents was driver error. Speed cameras do nothing to reduce driver error and there is in fact a growing amount of evidence that shows that cameras actually cause driver error by unaware drivers over reacting once they suddenly notice a speed camera and then stomping on the brakes or taking drastic action thereby sometimes losing control of their vehicle or causing following drivers to do likewise.
I don't expect you to take my word for it, the report is available on-line so you can see it for yourselves, if I can find the link I'll edit this post to include it.

Cheers

I do agree that the concept of Speed Cameras is controversial and I myself do not agree fully with it. Many communities install cameras as a source of revenue but on the other hand they do impose some discipline.

There are court rulings in Germany which ask for adequate warning for cameras as a suddenly braking car (seeing a camera) can be quite dangerous. If you pass through German towns, just below the yellow boards with the name of a town, there is a warning. There are additional warnings inside cities as well.

I assume you were fined on A7 near Göttingen - its a hilly stretch on a highway which is largely speed restriction free (coming from south).

I hope you realise the fallaciousness of that argument. If you drive at such a speed that you cannot control your vehicle and crash after a "driver error" then your speed is obviously inappropriate to either your skills, road conditions or both. Seen as how unlike to aviation you have no lower limit as to what speed you can drive at. The speed being a preexisting condition at the time of the error - you do the math whether it's a contributory cause or not.

I have pages and pages of professionally researched accidents if you really want to go into the deep of what constitutes contributory cause.

Now awaiting Catalyst with his statistics-dedicated abacus.

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