Donnerstag, 12.05.2022
The angle of inclination of the license plate on the motorcycle
from
Dr. jur. Ingo E. FrommLawyer
Specialist in criminal law
Specialist in traffic law
Give me a call: 0261 - 404 99 25
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Motorcyclists must ensure that they attach the license plate to their machine at the prescribed angle. Often, especially on dirt bikes or cross machines, the motorcycle license plates are mounted particularly flat. Experience shows that some license plates are almost horizontal. However, this contradicts Section 10 of the German Vehicle Registration Ordinance (FZV) in conjunction with Directive 2009/62/EC of July 13, 2009, on the location of the registration plate on the rear of two- or three-wheeled motor vehicles. This means that the license plate may be inclined at a maximum of 30 degrees from the vertical. For insurance certificates, this follows from § 27 FZV.
Relevance under criminal law only in the case of intent
During traffic checks, police officers sometimes assume that the motorcyclist has attached the license plate in this way with unlawful intent so that the license plate cannot be read. In such cases, the police use a goniometer to measure the motorcycle when it is parked in a vertical position. If the license plate can no longer be read due to an impermissible angle, criminal proceedings may be initiated against the motorcyclist under § 22 of the Road Traffic Act (StVG) for license plate misuse. According to this regulation, anyone who unlawfully alters, removes, covers or otherwise impairs the recognizability of the official license plate attached to a motor vehicle or a motor vehicle trailer is liable to prosecution. Often, the license plate is still legible even at an angle of 10 degrees from the permitted angle, so that § 22 StVG is ruled out. Furthermore, only intentional behavior is punishable, so that the perpetrator must have been aware of the illegal tendency. However, this often fails in practice.
Lighting system must work
Furthermore, it can be determined that rear license plates often do not have the prescribed lighting device. If the perpetrator has intentionally switched off the lighting, criminal liability for license plate misuse may be considered if this is done with the intention of preventing the official license plate from being read [judgment BayObLG of August 8, 1980, 1 St 252/80, quoted according to the guiding principle in Rüth, DAR 1981, 242, a.A.: AG Bielefeld NZV 2002, 242). Often, such criminal proceedings are directed against adolescents and young adults.
Administrative offense proceedings
The criminal proceedings are regularly discontinued and the matter is referred to the fines office for examination of an administrative offense. Anyone who operates a vehicle whose license plate is not designed or affixed as prescribed is only subject to a warning under the law relating to fines. No points are incurred in Flensburg, No. 179 BKat.
The statements represent initial information that was current for the law applicable in Germany at the time of initial publication. The legal situation may have changed since then. Furthermore, the information provided cannot replace individual advice on a specific matter. Please contact us for this purpose.