Motorway Police
The highway patrol is in Germany part of the police of the state police and monitored motorways and motorway-like roads.
Tasks and organization
The tasks of the motorway police are to direct traffic, record traffic accidents , remove traffic disruptions, monitor and secure traffic jams and prosecute administrative offenses - especially traffic offenses - and criminal offenses on the motorways of the respective federal states within Germany.
Within the Autobahn Police there are groups that deal with specific tasks, e.g. B. Traffic surveillance , road haulage or search . Traffic monitoring units use technical monitoring devices to monitor the speed and safety distance of vehicles. The motorway police also have civil vehicles available for speed and distance measurement.
In some federal states the offices of the Autobahn Police are called Autobahnpolizeistation (APS) or Autobahnpolizeirevier (APrev), in North Rhine-Westphalia Autobahnpolizeiwache (APW). They used to be called the Police Motorway Station (PASt). Since January 1, 2007, the independent motorway police in North Rhine-Westphalia, which were previously subordinate to the district governments - a motorway police (AP) for each administrative region of Arnsberg, Detmold, Düsseldorf, Münster and Cologne - have been integrated into the larger police headquarters as part of the traffic departments.
Some federal states do not have an independent motorway police. There the task is usually taken over by the traffic police.
vehicles
The patrol car of the highway police have compared to their urban counterparts often more powerful engines to achieve better results in acceleration and top speed. In some cases, the special signal system also differs in that it is easier to recognize over long distances. For example, devices with flash or LED lighting technology and fold-out signal boards for traffic control are often installed for use on the motorway. In some countries (e.g. Lower Saxony) the vehicles also have visual differences. For example, the cars have neon yellow stripes to make them more visible.
literature
- Helmut Rettinghaus: Germany's Autobahn Police through the ages. History, mission, legacy. Vol. 1.2. Rettinghaus, Langen / Hessen 2009. ISBN 978-3-00-028354-3 , ISBN 978-3-9813224-2-2 .
