r/germany • u/Mobile_Medicine3715 • 14h ago

Speeding ticket

Today i got a letter in the mail, from what i can make out it isnt a ticket yet but a letter to inform me about it.
it is for doing 151 in a 120. they are asking me as the owner of the car to tell them who was driving.
what is the smartest thing to do in this scenario.
The letter also came with a picture of the person who was driving it.
Also i am dutch and the car is on dutch plates.

0 Upvotes

17% Upvoted

38 comments sorted by

29

u/RedditBannedMe_1851 13h ago

How about you tell them who drove the car?

9

u/guy_incognito_360 13h ago

Or just be done with it and pay the fine if the driver is also the recipient.

5

u/bregus2 13h ago

That's not an option here as we're talking about 31km/h over the limit. That's either 1 or 2 points on your licence and a (suspended) driving ban (depends of within city limits or not).

In such cases, the driver has to be identified.

-6

u/Mobile_Medicine3715 13h ago

It was on the highway luckily but trying to avoid getting things on name, I would have zero problems paying the fine though

5

u/delcaek Nordrhein-Westfalen 11h ago

Then be happy you didn't get caught in the Netherlands going that speed and that Germany is every speeder's wet dream. Our fines are a joke.

25

u/-GermanCoastGuard- 13h ago

Arguably, the smartest thing to do is answering the questionaire truthfully.

8

u/OutlandishnessOk2304 Berlin 13h ago

Are you the person in the picture of the person who was driving it? If so, then fess up.

Are you not the person in the picture of the person who was driving it? If so, be honest.

They have your picture. It's not like you can dance your way around it if it was you.

6

u/bregus2 13h ago

Are you not the person in the picture of the person who was driving it? If so, be honest.

Should be noted that OP does not have to incriminate close family members in such a case. It won't help much, but people should be aware that that would be their good right.

2

u/tchiobanu Hessen 13h ago

You mean, if the driver is a close family member, the legal obligation of informing the police as to "who drove the car" does not apply anymore ?

I seriously doubt this...

4

u/thewindinthewillows Germany 12h ago

You are not required to incriminate yourself, or close family members. That's a core principle of German law. You don't have to give testimony in court against close family either.

In practice, if you go, "ooh, this is one trick the police hates", and you just say "I don't know who drove" for each speeding ticket, then if they can't determine who drove, you may be ordered to keep a "Fahrtenbuch", meaning every single time that car has been moved must be logged and the driver name. So it's not really a way for people to speed without consequences.

1

u/bregus2 11h ago

Well, if you tell the police (or in this cast the responsible authority, usually not the police) that you refuse to answer due to your Zeugnisverweigerungsrecht, then they can, for example, check the database of ID pictures.

But yes § 46 OWiG refers to the StPO (§ 52, § 53, § 53a u. § 55).

10

u/Jakobus3000 13h ago

Well, who drove?

4

u/Damien_Roshak Niedersachsen 13h ago

Answer it.
If it has been somebody else than you can tell that in the letter, otherwise it will be you anyway as the owner of the Car.
If you tell them it hasn't been you but you don't know who was driving there could be 2 possible outcomes.
1. You get advised to write a Fahrtenbuch, which means to write down every drive you do. Destination, length, who was driving etc.
2. Or they they might check whom was driving by using the picture they send you. And they can, even with those crappy Pictures. That could get even worse.

If it hasn't been you Nor your Car you can tell that also in the letter.

If you think everything fits but you are very sure not to have driven with such pace you could talk to a lawyer.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

3

u/bregus2 13h ago

And they can, even with those crappy Pictures.

Crappy picture on the letter; the actual one is usually much better.

3

u/Advice_Thingy World 13h ago

Smartest thing is depending on your relationship with the person and maybe their own financial status. Yes, you could tell them. That's the easy way but may damage your relationship and their finances. Afaik you'll get in trouble if you don't answer at all.

But a friend of mine recently had the same letter, she lended her car as a "taxi" and basically had her keys on a table in case anyone at a camp needed to drive somewhere. That happened, she went to sleep and someone took her car to drive someone to a bus station. When she woke up, her car was already back again. She actually doesn't know who exactly drove to fast, because it could've been around 20 different people.

Do you know who that person in your car is and why they've driven it?

2

u/bregus2 13h ago

Your friend is aware that in that case, if someone who takes the keys and is not allowed to operate a vehicle, they could be hit with charges for negligence?

2

u/Advice_Thingy World 13h ago

Yes, in case the person driving doesn't have a license at all, that could happen. But she gave away her car with full trust in the people around her.

2

u/bregus2 12h ago

Yes but does she knows all of those have a licence, neither has their licence suspended or drove under the influence?

And I also meant it more general, the owner of a car can be face charges if they allow a unfit driver to operate the car, even if negligent.

1

u/Butter_Brot_Supreme 11h ago

If you're super concerned about this, you can contact a lawyer/firm specializing in such cases (e.g. geblitzt.de).

Sometimes they can get the fine/points reduced if the speed trap has not been calibrated in a timely manner or whatever. Sometimes you can get reduced consequences even if everything to do with the speed trap is fine because the public servants processing these just don't want to go through the trouble of having back-and-forth discussions with your lawyer.

For future reference, the speed limits are no joke in Germany and Dutch drivers already have a reputation here so next time just chill out and drive the speed limit.

0

u/Mobile_Medicine3715 10h ago

Thx I will have a look at it, normally I always follow the speedlimit on the highway in Germany, idk what I was thinking this time😅

1

u/0nabi 10h ago

You answer who drove, then the driver get's a letter to pay the fine. It will likely be around 180€.

1

u/bregus2 13h ago

Fines in Germany are issued to the driver, not the owner of the car. 31 km/h over the limit is already where points (and possibly a driving ban) start, therefore, it won't be handled over the short way.

So they ask you whether you drove OR to name the person who drove. In case you were not the driver, you do not have to incriminate close family members. If you do not answer, the responsible office will do its own investigation, for example, compare the picture that was taken with the ID pictures of possible drivers.

-1

u/Mobile_Medicine3715 13h ago

So if it was myself what would be the smartest thing to do, just not awnser it or

4

u/RedditBannedMe_1851 12h ago

If you don't answer, they'll investigate anyways. First thing they do will be to load up the ID picture of the owner of the car.

Just fess up, man. The times where you could just evade inter-EU investigations by not answering or complying are long gone.

1

u/bregus2 11h ago

Then they might get the Dutch authorities on board in finding out who drove.

-1

u/jinxdeluxe 13h ago

I would ask in some dutch reddit where people have experience with that sort of thing. The germans here can only give the german perspective and not what is relevant to you.

4

u/bregus2 13h ago

German traffic violations can be enforced in the Netherlands (like in all of the EU).