Germany: Increased Fines for Traffic Violations Take Effect

In Germany, it just got easier to lose one’s driver’s license for traffic violations. From today, much higher fines for speeding and other contraventions apply.

Speeders in Germany will need to pile up even more banknotes on the table for parking at the wrong spot, for speeding in cities, towns and village or on highways and freeways. In February, a substantial increase of fines was approved by the Bundesrat on February 14th, 2020. It kicks in today.

For instance, parking on a spot for electric vehicles with a conventional one, or on a parking spot for handicapped people without a certificate of disability costs 55 Euro. The fines for speeding partially doubled.

Speeding Fines for Highways and Freeways

• Up to 10 km/h faster than allowed: 20 Euro
• 11 to 15 km/h: 40 Euro
• 16 to 20 km/h: 60 Euro
• 21 to 25 km/h: 70 Euro and 1 point in the traffic offender database
• 26 to 30 km/h: 80 Euro and 1 point
• 31 to 40 km/h: 120 Euro and 1 point
• 41 to 50 km/h: 160 Euro and 2 points
• 51 to 60 km/h: 240 Euro and 2 points
• 61 to 70 km/h: 440 Euro and 2 points
• More than 70 km/h: 600 Euro plus 2 points

The Points System

In Germany, drivers who accumulate 8 points in the traffic offender data base lose their driver’s license for 6 months. Once it reaches 7 points, the authorities are obliged to warn the individual about an imminent loss of his or her license in case of another violation the penalty for which includes a point.

From today, exceeding the maximum speed on highways or freeways (B-roads and ‘motorways’ in British English) by 26 to 40 km/h once means the driver will lose his or her driver’s license for a while. Before, this kind of harsh penalty applied after the second case in one year.

Within cities, speeding fines just doubled as well.

Speeding fines Within Cities, Towns and Villages:

• Up to 10 km/h faster than allowed: 30 Euro
• 11 to 15 km/h: 50 Euro
• 16 to 20 km/h: 70 Euro (bislang 35 Euro)
• 21 to 25 km/h: 80 Euro and 1 point
• 26 to 30 km/h: 100 Euro and 2 points
• 31 to 40 km/h: 160 Euro and 2 points
• 41 to 50 km/h: 200 Euro and 2 points
• 51 to 60 km/h: 280 Euro and 2 points
• 61 to 70 km/h: 480 Euro and 2 points
• More than 70 km/h: 680 Euro and two points

On top of it all, the fines for certain parking violations or for causing noise or unnecessary pollution were increased substantially too. Blocking the view on streets for other drivers by parking too close to intersections or other critical spots now costs 35 Euro. Blocking fire fighters by parking in fire rescue paths is 55 Euro.

Parking in the second row is 55 to 80 Euro, depending on the question whether a traffic obstruction is being caused or not. The fine for causing more noise and pollution than necessary is 80 Euro, and the one for entering a low-emission zone with the wrong vehicle is 100 Euro.

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