Anyone who races into a speed trap at high speed cannot expect to fare as well as the speeders who were surprisingly acquitted by Judge Knöner from Herford at the end of last year. The judge had justified his series of acquittals by saying that many speed cameras are mere rip-offs by the state. This view is also widespread among the population. In fact, one often gets the impression that radar traps are primarily installed to collect money, especially since they are often not located at dangerous or accident-prone spots. However, the Herford judge found hardly any imitators.
If, in addition, the person concerned is caught exceeding the permissible maximum speed by more than 30 km/h in a built-up area or more than 40 km/h outside of a built-up area with a driving ban of one to three months, the hangover is all the greater. In today's world, mobility is a precious and fundamentally important part of our way of life, and for many people it is also a prerequisite for being able to pursue a professional activity. The person concerned can appeal against the fine within two weeks of receiving it. As a rule, the traffic offense is already time-barred. Only very few people know that an offense committed in traffic is already time-barred after three months. The first step for the fines office is to identify the driver. This is not so easy if the owner was not driving, so the investigation can take several weeks or even months. This time passes quickly.
Often, a review of the investigation file even reveals a measurement error that makes the measurement unusable. Sometimes, only an expert, who is to be requested by the Lawyer of the person concerned, uncovers such technical errors. A statistical evaluation of 1,810 administrative offenses on the basis of technical measurement processes showed that only about 15% of the processes were without any defects. Last year, for example, some speed measurements by the well-known stationary measuring system on the Koblenz Europe Bridge on the B9 towards the city center were also objectionable from a technical point of view.
If the measurement was carried out without any recognizable errors and if the administrative offense was not time-barred, it may be possible to have the driving ban dropped. If the person concerned has only negligently overlooked the road sign or the town entrance sign, then there is no gross breach of duty, with the consequence that, according to established case law, no driving ban may be imposed. Otherwise, the driving ban can at least be avoided by a reasonable increase in the fine: the sanctions of criminal and administrative offense law must not lead to a disproportionately heavy burden on the person concerned. If the imposition of a driving ban for the person concerned results in an economic threat to their livelihood or exceptional hardship, it would violate the principle of proportionality. The fine offices therefore omit the driving ban if the person concerned would have to fear the termination of their employment relationship or if a self-employed person would be left with practically no income for the duration of the driving ban and thereforebe feared that the business would have to be closed down. It makes sense for the person concerned to have the risk of dismissal and the associated destruction of their livelihood confirmed in writing by the responsible person (human resources department, management), with the confirmation issued on official company letterhead. The letters can be presented to the fine office or (first) to the fine judge. In addition, unreasonable hardship may exist if an affected person is more dependent on the use of a vehicle for health reasons or because they are caring for sick relatives. In these individual cases, it is not reasonable to expect the person concerned or a third party close to them to use public transport to visit the doctor.
The recognition of special hardships by fines offices or district courts varies greatly from place to place. Due to the complexity of the matter, a specialized lawyer should definitely be hired.
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.