German police set up numerous mobile radar traps on roads all over the country today. The objective was to fight speeding, which is one of the main causes for deadly accidents.
Ten of the sixteen federal states within Germany took part. They are Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hesse, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. In some of these provinces the war against speeding will continue on Thursday.
Hamburg will have its speed trap day on Thursday. The five remaining federal states, including Berlin, are not taking part.
In Brandenburg alone, police had caught as many as 843 speeding drivers until noon. Radar traps were spread all over the province, at 180 spots, according to German media. The fastest speeder they wrote a ticket for was going 162 km/h (101 mph) in an 80 km/h (50 mph) zone.
Germany’s speed trap day is part of a so-called action week police in 30 European countries are working on. Apart from catching and fining speeders, police want to raise awareness regarding the deadly consequences of speeding.
During a similar speed trap day last year, police in eight German provinces caught more than 37,000 speeders. Many of them went three times as fast as allowed.
Within cities, towns and villages, speeding fines are 15 to 680 Euro (17 to 765 Dollars or 13 to 582 Pounds), depending how much the individual exceeds the maximum speed. Germany also has a system of points which are given to drivers for speeding. If they accumulate too many points, they will lose their driver’s licenses.
Drivers who exceed the maximum speed by 41 km/h (25 mph) or more, will lose their license for at least one month. In extreme cases, they will have to take special driving lessons and start from scratch.
In 2018, more than 3,200 people died in car crashes, many of which would not have happened without the speeding aspect.