Serious mistake Driver driving 7 km/h too fast - over 900 francs fine
A curiosity in Germany: a driver is flashed at a minimum speed on the A3 - and shortly afterwards receives a fine of more than 1000 euros. The reason is a serious mistake by the authorities.
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- Driver was flashed for seven km/h too much, but had to pay a fine of almost 1000 euros.
- The fining authority mistakenly treated the small car as a truck with a lower speed limit.
- The case is now with the public prosecutor's office, and experts advise checking fine notices carefully.
Seven kilometers per hour too fast - actually a minor offence. But for a driver on the A3 highway, a minor speeding offense had drastic consequences. Instead of a small warning fine, he received a fine notice for 960 euros, plus fees and expenses totaling more than 1000 euros.
The incident dates back to a speed check in September 2025. The man was driving a small car and was clocked at 131 km/h in a section where the speed limit is 120 km/h. After deducting the measurement tolerance, this would only have been a minor speeding offense - with no points and no driving ban.
However, the fine notice issued later was based on an incorrect assumption. The responsible fining authority assumed that the vehicle was a truck. A speed limit of 80 km/h applies to trucks at the location in question. Accordingly, the driver was charged with exceeding the speed limit by 47 km/h - with two points on the driving aptitude register, a one-month driving ban and a heavy fine.
The fine is unlikely to stand
Particularly explosive: the speed camera photo clearly shows a small car. Despite this, the case was not corrected after an internal review, but instead forwarded to the public prosecutor's office. The case is now likely to go to a local court.
Traffic law experts assume that the fine will not be upheld. The error is obvious and clearly provable. However, the case shows how quickly a minor traffic offense can have serious legal consequences.
Lawyers therefore advise drivers to always check fine notices carefully. Formal and substantive errors are not uncommon. If you have any doubts, you should lodge an objection in good time - the legal deadline is two weeks from receipt of the notice.
