Montag, 06.07.2020
Driving bans under the amended German Road Traffic Regulations, possible changes to the existing regulations and how to proceed
from
Dr. jur. Ingo E. FrommLawyer
Specialist in criminal law
Specialist in traffic law
Give me a call: 0261 - 404 99 25
E-Mail:
A few weeks after the introduction of the tightened regulations on driving bans for speeding on April 28, 2020, the media is reporting as expected that the new fine catalog is actually a "driver's license destruction machine".driver's license destruction machine." [1] Between April 28, 2020 and May 22, 2020, more than 1,000 speeding violations with driving bans were registered in Cologne. In the same period last year, there were just 94.[2] The core issue is the newly introduced driving bans from 21 km/h over the speed limit in built-up areas (No. 11.3.4 BKat) and from 26 km/h outside built-up areas (No. 11.3.5 BKat).
Planned mitigation
As early as May 2020, the Federal Minister of Transport publicly announced his plans to withdraw parts of the new regulations. Numerous newspapers have quoted Federal Transport Minister Scheuer as saying that these regulations are "disproportionate".[3]
Application of the amended StVO that has come into force
It is by no means certain at present that there will be political agreement on a softening of the regulations on driving bans. The view of the transport minister that a reform of the reform is necessary has already been contradicted by politicians from other parties. If the changes are made, however, they will probably only apply to the future and not retroactively. This means that the question arises as to how to deal with speeding violations in the period from April 28, 2020 until the regulations are withdrawn. Between April 28, 2020 and a possible return to the old regulations for speeding, the legal order of driving bans will probably remain in place.
Prospects of success and strategies
The specialized criminal and traffic law attorneys at caspers mock Anwälte advise clients who are currently subject to administrative orders imposing fines and banning them from driving. There is a prospect of success that such driving bans will ultimately be dropped. It is essential that appeals be filed against any fines that include driving bans.
Violation of the citation requirement of the Basic Law
The amendment to the StVO is also said to be partially invalid because of an error in the legislative process. The citation requirement of the Basic Law (Art. 80 I GG) has been violated. The legal basis for the new regulation should have been stated in a new ordinance. However, the amendment lacks a reference to § 26a para. 1 no. 3 StVG. The incomplete citation of the enabling provision in the StVO amendment means that the tightening of driving bans is not effective. It remains to be seen whether the district courts will accept this objection or whether it is first necessary to file an appeal or whether and when the legislature will attempt to rectify the error.
References
[1] www.schwaebische.de v. 15.6.2020 ("Führerschein-Vernichtungsmaschine" - Ringen um Fahrverbote für Temposünder geht weiter); www.pnp.de v. 17.06.2020 ("Passau - Neuer Bußgeldkatalog: Fahrverbote ohne Ende")
[2] Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger v. 5.6.20 ("Anzahl der Fahrverbote für Raser steigt in Köln").
[3] www.bz-berlin.de v. 15.05.20 ("Federal Minister of Transport - Higher Fines Instead of Driving Bans - This is How Scheuer Wants to Reduce the Penalties for Speeders").
[4] www.morgenpost.de v. 15.05.20 ("Scheuer wants to mitigate harsher penalties for traffic offenders").
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.