Traffic violation
A traffic violation is a misconduct in road traffic , i.e. a violation of a relevant legal norm of road traffic law .
Classification
Traffic violations can constitute either a criminal offense or an administrative offense. The severity of the violation is decisive for the classification.
Criminal offenses in road traffic are punished according to the Criminal Code (StGB) and the Road Traffic Act (StVG) with imprisonment , fines , the imposition of a driving ban or the withdrawal of the driver's license , administrative offenses according to the Road Traffic Act (StVG), the Road Traffic Regulations (StVO) and road traffic -Zulassungs-Ordinance (StVZO) with a fine and in certain cases a driving ban. The amount of the fines imposed and the duration of any driving ban are based on the Ordinance on Fines Catalog (BKatV) and the catalog of fines contained in the annex ( Section 1 BKatV).
Most traffic violations with motor vehicles and bicycles , but also by pedestrians, are punished with fines or warnings in accordance with the federal catalog of offenses for traffic offenses (BT-KAT-OWI). With the entry into force of the Small Electric Vehicle Ordinance on June 15, 2019, some new offenses arose for traffic violations with small electric vehicles, and some existing ones were changed.
In 2018, around 250,000 registered criminal offenses were matched by more than 4.5 million administrative offenses.
Jurisdiction and Procedure
According to German law, a distinction is made:
1.) Traffic
offense a) Warning area (€ 5–35)
- Oral warning or warning procedure (levying a warning money ), in the latter case when an objection is raised, the fine procedure takes place (the warning is changed to a notification of an administrative offense)
- Prosecution by the fine authority , in the event of an objection by the judiciary
b) Advertisement area (over 35 €)
- Prosecution by the fine authority, in the event of an objection by the judiciary
2.) Traffic offense
- Processing / investigations within the framework of the principle of legality , submission to the judiciary
In the case of traffic offenses, the German police act as both the prosecuting authority and the authority to pay fines for violations of the StVO and the StVG. In Germany, according to the principle of opportunity , the police can dispense with pursuing any traffic offense at their dutiful discretion or issue a verbal warning (the latter only for offenses up to a standard penalty rate of up to EUR 35).
enforcement
According to the EU framework decision on the application of the principle of mutual recognition of financial penalties (framework decision 2005/214 / JHA of the Council of February 24, 2005), sanctions imposed on German motorists in other EU countries are also enforced in Germany.
System for assessing fitness to drive
Since January 2, 1958, all traffic offenses that have become legally binding in the advertising area of drivers with a German driving license have been stored in the register of suitability to drive and assessed according to a point system ( Section 40 FeV ). The Federal Motor Transport Authority maintains this register, also known as the index of traffic offenders , and also compiles and publishes national statistics. It automatically contains the convictions (e.g. secondary penalties ) of road users by courts.
Traffic offenses are stored in the criminal record record (police) and in the central public prosecutor's procedure register (justice) as well as at the road traffic authority (driver's license authority).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Traffic violation lawyer online.de, accessed on January 18, 2020
- ↑ Ordinance on the issuing of a warning, standard rates for fines and the ordering of a driving ban due to administrative offenses in road traffic (Fines Catalog Ordinance - BKatV) of March 14, 2013 (Federal Law Gazette I p. 498)
- ↑ Federal Standard Catalog of Facts (BT-KAT-OWI) 12th edition, as of November 1, 2017. Updated on the basis of the 53rd Ordinance on the Amendment of Road Traffic Regulations of October 6, 2017 (Federal Law Gazette I p. 3549) and the 56th Criminal Law Amendment Act of 30 September 2017 (BGBl. I p. 3532)
- ↑ Federal Motor Transport Authority : offenses for small electric vehicles June 26, 2019, PDF (129 kB)
- ↑ Traffic anomalies figures at a glance. Federal Motor Transport Authority, accessed on January 19, 2020
- ↑ EU enforcement agreement for fines 13 January 2020
- ↑ Frequently asked questions about the law for the implementation of the framework decision 2005/214 / JI of the Council of February 24, 2005, Federal Office of Justice , accessed on January 18, 2020
- ↑ The enforcement of foreign European tickets and fine notices verkehrslexikon.de, accessed on January 18, 2020
- ↑ Andreas J.Tryba: The enforcement of European fine notices in Germany. Owner liability vs. Driver liability 2014
- ↑ Designation and evaluation of the criminal offenses and administrative offenses to be taken into account in the context of the fitness to drive evaluation system, Federal Law Gazette I 2014, 363–367
