The tightening of the road traffic regulations no longer applies

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The tightening of the road traffic regulations no longer applies
Reinhard Schmid

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The tightening of the road traffic regulations no longer applies

Higher fines in the road traffic regulations
Penalties for formal errors reduced again

Since the end of April 2020, higher penalties for exceeding the speed limit apply. After a lot of criticism and a large online petition, the changes due to a formal error are now being reversed. The penalties are reduced accordingly.


Uli Baumann,


Dina Dervisevic,


Slawomir Niewrzol

07/03/2020

On February 14, 2020, the Federal Council passed the amendment to the road traffic regulations. On April 27, 2020, the amendment was published in the Federal Law Gazette (No. 19), so it came into force on April 28, 2020. After a lot of criticism and an online petition with the title “Reverse driving license trap of the StVO amendment”, In which more than 160,000 signatures have been collected so far, the penalties are now to be reduced again. In particular, the harsher punishments that mean the loss of a driver’s license are far too extreme and for some people even threaten their very existence. According to Mobil in Deutschland e.V., Saarland had already started reducing the penalties yesterday afternoon – the federal states of Bavaria and Lower Saxony followed in the evening. All other federal states are to follow today.

According to Mobil in Deutschland e. V is said to have made a mistake in the publication of the amendment: “The legal basis for the new driving bans is not mentioned in the initial formula of the regulation. But that has to happen, so the regulation is null and void. This formal error must also be corrected quickly, otherwise the countries face thousands of proceedings by motorists because of wrongly sent fines. The Federal Minister of Transport has now pointed this out to the federal states. The Saarland, Bavaria and Lower Saxony have already suspended the StVO amendment.” Accordingly, in the aforementioned federal states, the old catalog of fines, which was in effect until April 27, 2020, is being reverted to.

Dr. Michael Haberland, President of the Automobile Club and initiator of the petition “Reverse driving license trap of the StVO amendment”, was satisfied in the published press release: “”I assume that all other federal states will now follow this example. That’s a good thing. In addition to the legal uncertainty, the entire StVO amendment is a mess. The fines are too high, the driving license withdrawal is completely disproportionate. So I am very pleased that this is now being completely changed.” The Federal Ministry of Transport has also asked the federal states to apply the old catalog of penalties again with immediate effect. In addition, the ministry would like to present a new proposal for changes to the road traffic regulations in the near future.

Original changes to the catalog of fines

A general speed limit of 130 km / h on motorways was rejected in the amendment, but there were relevant changes in other areas. The fines for exceeding the speed limit have risen again. Driving bans will also be due earlier in the future. While drivers previously only threatened to be banned from driving if they exceeded the speed limit outside built-up areas by at least 26 km / h twice within a year, first-time offenders can now walk for a month from now on. In urban areas, a violation of 21 km / h is enough to have to surrender the driver’s license for a month. “(…) In addition, the issuing of driving bans within built-up areas is uniformly required when exceeding speeds of 21 km / h (…)”, so the wording on page 32 of the Federal Council decision.

Criticism from your own ministry

According to dpa information (German Press Agency), the Federal Ministry of Transport has been working on revising part of the catalog of fines for just under three weeks after the new regulations came into force. The main focus is on the rule that there is now a one-month driving ban if you drive 21 kilometers per hour too fast in built-up areas or 26 km / h outside of town. That is “disproportionate”, it said in the ministry. With a change should the acceptance by the citizens as well as that “Sense of justice” to be restored. It is not yet known what is planned in detail. The ministry has already approached the federal states to get their approval for the implementation, it said. In February, however, the federal states tightened Scheuer’s bill in the Federal Council on many points, including the rule on driving bans for speeding offenders. Scheuer had nevertheless put the amended regulation into effect because otherwise he would have had to withdraw the amendment entirely to prevent the tightening.

Too fast outside of town

The following applies to driving too fast outside built-up areas:

  • up to 10 km / h: 20 euros (previously 10 euros)
  • 11 – 15 km / h: 40 euros (previously 20 euros)
  • 16 – 20 km / h: 60 euros (previously 30 euros)
  • 21 – 25 km / h: 70 euros + 1 point
  • 26 – 30 km / h: 80 euros + 1 point + 1 month driving ban (so far no driving ban)
  • 31 – 40 km / h: 120 euros + 1 point + 1 month driving ban
  • 41 – 50 km / h: 160 euros + 2 points + 1 month driving ban
  • 51 – 60 km / h: 240 euros + 2 points + 1 month driving ban
  • 61 – 70 km / h: 440 euros + 2 points + 2 months driving ban
  • over 70 km / h: 600 euros + 2 points + 3 months driving ban

Too fast in urban areas

There are the following changes for exceeding the applicable maximum speed in urban areas:

  • up to 10 km / h: 30 euros (previously 15 euros)
  • 11 – 15 km / h: 50 euros (previously 25 euros)
  • 16 – 20 km / h: 70 euros (previously 35 euros)
  • 21 – 25 km / h: 80 euros + 1 point + 1 month driving ban (so far no driving ban)
  • 26 – 30 km / h: 100 euros + 1 point + 1 month driving ban (no driving ban so far)
  • 31 – 40 km / h: 160 euros + 2 points + 1 month driving ban
  • 41 – 50 km / h: 200 euros + 2 points + 1 month driving ban
  • 51 – 60 km / h: 280 euros + 2 points + 2 months driving ban
  • 61 – 70 km / h: 480 euros + 2 points + 3 months driving ban
  • over 70 km / h: 680 euros + 2 points + 3 months driving ban

Points for sidewalk parkers


The tightening of the road traffic regulations no longer applies


Uli Baumann

Parking on the sidewalks, which is so popular with motorcyclists, has also become significantly more expensive. The fine for this has increased from 20 to 55 euros. If there is a handicap, this becomes 70 euros and one point. It gets really tough for vehicles – and the StVO does not differentiate between cars and motorcycles – that park on a sidewalk for more than an hour. Then the fine can cost up to 100 euros according to the new regulation and there is also an additional point in Flensburg. Specifically, the Federal Council resolution states: “The classification of the violation is carried out by the responsible authorities on site”, what i.a. means that the local authorities can tolerate motorcycles on the sidewalk, but they don’t have to.

Drive through the rescue alley

Those who do not form an emergency lane used to pay a fine of 200 euros and collect two points in Flensburg. From now on there will also be a one-month driving ban. Drivers who drive through the emergency lane or hang on to emergency vehicles are punished much more severely: then there is a risk of at least 240 euros, two points and a one-month driving ban.

Conclusion

The many critical comments and the successful online petition have borne fruit. In three federal states, the tightening of the penalties was reversed on July 2nd. All other federal states are to follow one day later.

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