So I paid my first German speeding ticket

"KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs" (kusabisensei)
03/09/2016 at 11:18 • Filed to: None

So yeah, I did 12km/h over the limit, back in October when I was on vacation. 130km/h section, and I was tagged at 142km/h in the gutless wonder Skoda with Dutch plates. Oh, and I was wearing a helmet. So Ze Germans want 20 Euro in cautionary fine money.

Now of course all the documents are in German (duh), so I’ve been trying to translate everything. Now the most annoying part was getting a bank in the US to do an international SWIFT transfer to pay the money to the treasury in Germany. Because the US doesn’t use SWIFT for general EFT (We use ACH transfers in the US, since that is lower cost to US users), it cost me $50 just to send the 20 Euros (which converts to about US$22.50), along with the rental agency charging for their data look up (45 Euros).

At least the rental agency takes credit cards. Come to think of it, my boss (who has been done for speeding before in France) also notes that the French take bank cards for speeding fines, and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

I, on the other hand, had to fill out the paper work and fax it (!) to the person listed on the notice, since they did not have an email address available.

As my German friend who lives near me said, “If you lived in Germany, this would be very simple and everyone would understand the process. But because you do not live in Germany, all assumptions are not just invalid, but unceremoniously taken out back behind the barn and shot between the eyes. And you are screwed.”

So when I go back to Europe, don’t speed in Germany. Speed in France.

DISCUSSION (28)

goelvis > KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs
03/09/2016 at 11:25

Or just give an honest german 25 Euros and have them pay it for you

dogisbadob > KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs
03/09/2016 at 11:27

Still cheaper than most American speeding tickets. Of course, Germany does have the unrestricted Autobahn ;)

JKER > KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs
03/09/2016 at 11:30

What happens if you don’t pay it?

Mattbob > KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs
03/09/2016 at 11:31

For translating, google translate with the camera feature is awesome. Also, can’t you just mail a check? Or like an envelope with some cash in it?

Justin Hughes > KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs
03/09/2016 at 11:32

Still better than Virginia...

fourvalleys > KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs
03/09/2016 at 11:35

I got a speeding ticket on the Autobahn, too! 86 km/h in an 80 km/h zone. Or roughly 3 over in a 50mph zone.

I didn’t realize it until months later that the 20€ my rental company charged me didn’t actually cover the 5€ (seriously) fine. It would have cost me more in fees to transfer the 5€, so I’m hoping I don’t have any issues the next time I go back.

At least I got the nice letter with a photo of my face on it! Nice memento.

Scott > KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs
03/09/2016 at 11:39

Why were you wearing a helmet in a Skoda? Was it a full face helmet? German law requires that the driver be ticketed, so if your face is not visible they cannot issue you the ticket without some way of showing that you were the driver. The bad news of course is that in Germany tickets from a Camera are not treated the same as a ticket from an officer, which almost never happens. Tickets from a camera you cannot dispute in court. You can take it to a special review board, and you can dispute it a couple more times but then you'll be required to pay. Since the review board is funded by tickets they rarely over turn a ticket. Since I presume you have left Germany already it's not worth the effort to try and dispute it. However if your face is not visible you probably have grounds to have it dismissed.

duurtlang > KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs
03/09/2016 at 11:48

But because you do not live in Germany, all assumptions are not just invalid, but unceremoniously taken out back behind the barn and shot between the eyes. And you are screwed.

I’ve had 3 speeding tickets in Germany in the last year and a half. Two times 119 in a 100 zone, once 44 in a 30 zone. They were €20 each I believe. I’m not German, nor do I live in Germany. Transferring the money to the German treasury didn’t cost me a cent besides the actual fine.

gin-san - shitpost specialist > KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs
03/09/2016 at 11:57

Despite the additional fees associated with the transaction, at least these fines are reasonable (for those living in Germany). Ontario’s thinking of bringing in speed cameras under the guise of public safety but it’s tough to think that this is just coincidence when we’ve found out just how great our province’s debt is relative to the rest of the country.

450X_FTW > KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs
03/09/2016 at 12:10

I wish that’s how speeding tickets were handled in the US. Simple fine and be done with it, but no, it’s a fine and your insurance rates double for the next year because you are a “danger to everyone around you”.....

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > duurtlang
03/09/2016 at 12:27

You are in the SEPA Zone, so you can make transfers using SWIFT for same cost as domestic transfers in the Netherlands.

If you are outside the Single Euro Payment Area Zone (More specifically, outside the EU), then this applies.

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > Scott
03/09/2016 at 12:30

I was on the way back to my hotel from an event and didn’t take it off. You can only see my eyes, but I paid the fine anyway.

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > gin-san - shitpost specialist
03/09/2016 at 12:31

Oh they will just set the automatic fine to be something like C$250 and up for their camera tickets.

Heck they could already do average speed checks on the 407 with the timestamps of entry and exit.

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > Justin Hughes
03/09/2016 at 12:34

Most things are better than Virginia. Even most of Canada is better than Virginia (so long as you are less than 50km/h over the limit).

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > Mattbob
03/09/2016 at 12:34

There was no address to send cash or a check to. Which is funny because I have 20 Euros in cash in my wallet!

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > JKER
03/09/2016 at 12:35

Probably gets more expensive, and if I ever enter the Schengen Area via Germany, I may get stopped at border control and made to pay the fine on the spot.

Cé hé sin > KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs
03/09/2016 at 12:36

In fairness, it’s not the fault of the German authorities that it costs you to transfer funds.

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > dogisbadob
03/09/2016 at 12:36

It cost me about the same (paying the rental agency their 45 Euros for data lookup, the bank for the international transfer, the fine, plus the aggravation) as a $106 speeding ticket I got when I crashed my Mercedes.

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > Cé hé sin
03/09/2016 at 12:38

But the French don’t seem to have this problem, since they allow you to use a bank card and pay on the Internet.

Paying by bank card likely has even fewer back end charges than using the SWIFT network for wires.

So I’ll just get my speeding tickets in France from now on.

duurtlang > goelvis
03/09/2016 at 12:41

This is an option. It doesn’t even have to be a German, someone in the Euro zone will suffice and I’m sure some other countries will suffice as well.

Meatcoma > KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs
03/09/2016 at 12:44

I’d have written them a check and said figure it out.

gin-san - shitpost specialist > KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs
03/09/2016 at 13:08

That seems a bit high but if they end up using a sliding scale depending on how much you were speeding, I could see that being an upper limit.

I’ve already heard the arguments on the radio: “think of the children,” “it’s the law,” “it’s safer,” etc. I personally don’t buy that for most cases. I’d actually be for these types of cameras in places where speed is an issue, such as around schools or residential areas - these areas are typically around 40km/h to 50km/h anyway. Where I don’t want to see cameras are on highways with 80km/h to 100km/h limits - I find these are low to begin with and most drivers usually do around 10-15km/h more, which I think is perfectly reasonable.

Having seen how people drive around here in winter conditions (it’s Ottawa, so it’s inevitable) I’d prefer a complete overhaul of driver licensing, testing, and training in the province, but that’s not voter friendly.

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > gin-san - shitpost specialist
03/09/2016 at 14:08

Nah, they will find the way to extract the maximum amount of fine money possible from drivers. You know, because it’s all for your safety.

Queen’s Park never met a tax or fine they couldn’t raise. I mean, there are signs on the 401 and the QEW that list various fines for various speeds. And that’s before they tack on court costs and such.

gin-san - shitpost specialist > KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs
03/09/2016 at 15:08

I certainly wouldn’t put it past them. I really hope that most cities don't back up this plan in their own municipal planning.

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > gin-san - shitpost specialist
03/09/2016 at 15:24

Kinja'd!!!

Oh, they will. Believe me, they will.

Old Red Wagon > KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs
03/09/2016 at 16:33

I remember when I got my first speeding ticket in Germany. I lived there for two years and got only three tickets, nothing excessive. All about the range you went over. One of them was in the Netherlands though. Got a letter in Dutch saying I was speeding. If you live there it is an extremely quick process paying for it but as you have experienced, not living there, it can be a big pain in the ass.

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > Old Red Wagon
03/09/2016 at 16:49

I had to write a letter to go with my faxed documents in English and then I provided an automatic German translation of the letter. I also asked that any future communication have an English translation in addition to the original German.

There has been a EU directive for the last few years saying that governments have to provide translations upon request of legal documents, so that the right to a fair legal proceeding is maintained.

Mr. Crunchy > dogisbadob
07/21/2017 at 17:07

Much of it is not unrestricted. (Yes, I’m late to this article as I just paid my own first ticket in Germany since moving here in November.)