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Policewoman writes traffic ticket in Zurich
Photo: Manuel Geisser / IMAGO
German illegal parkers or speeders who have received a ticket in Switzerland will soon also be asked to pay in Germany: This will be possible with the entry into force of the new police treaty between Germany and Switzerland. The German ambassador in Bern, Michael Flügger, exchanged the ratification documents with the director of the Federal Office of Police, Nicoletta della Valle, in Bern on Wednesday. According to Flügger, the contract will come into force on May 1st.
Until now, traffic offenders have been able to sit out the sometimes hefty fines from Switzerland in Germany: fines from countries outside the EU - such as Switzerland or Great Britain - could not be enforced in Germany. There was only a risk of trouble if they entered the country again. In Switzerland, traffic offenders then had to expect a penalty notice.
The new regulation applies if the monetary claim imposed exceeds 70 euros or 80 francs. These thresholds are quickly reached in Switzerland. Exceeding the speed limit by 20 kilometers per hour on the motorway costs 180 francs (around 184 euros), and even more on other roads. In Germany, such a speeding offense costs 60 euros.
The new police contract regulates cross-border cooperation in the fight against “terrorists, people smugglers, ATM busters and mafiosi,” as the Swiss Federal Office of Police announced on the LinkedIn network. The prosecution of traffic offenses is also part of this and is regulated in paragraph 48. It also applies vice versa if Swiss people violate traffic rules in Germany. "Upon request, the Contracting States shall provide each other with assistance in the enforcement of decisions by which the competent court or authority of a Contracting State finds a violation of road traffic regulations and therefore imposes a penalty on a natural or legal person."
kfr/dpa