Driving in Germany

Wooscary · Post by **Wooscary** » Thu Nov 18, 2010 11:37 pm

Hello

Off to Berlin at New Year. Does anyone know anything about the emissions badge for cities?

Can't quite find a straight answer.

Cheers

Martin

Post by **docchevron** » Fri Nov 19, 2010 12:38 am

Toddao's the man here surely?

Wooscary · Post by **Wooscary** » Tue Nov 23, 2010 1:44 pm

Could well be.

On the face of it, it seems pretty straight forward, but who knows.

Also, to add to the original question, anyone know if I'll have an issue not having winter tyres late December/early January?

Post by **mat_fenwick** » Tue Nov 23, 2010 1:59 pm

I'd send him a PM - he's pretty busy at the moment welding and re-piping his yellow estate so probably hasn't seen this thread yet! I'm sure he knows as we were chatting about it the other day.

Post by **Defender110** » Tue Nov 23, 2010 3:36 pm

About as much use as a chocholate fire gaurd but;
The German Winter Tyre Law has not been ratified yet although it was supposed to be by 1st of November, as it stands there are no fines for driving on unsuitable tyres. The German constitutional court ruled that the current legislation was not clearly defined enough to permit fines, penalties, etc to be prescribed. The current fines are for reckless driving, therefore only applicable if you are involved in an accident. If you are driving on unsuitable tyres for the conditions, you are deemed to be driving in a reckless manner and endangering the lives of others.
The police can currently stop you and inspect your tyres, but they cannot fine you if you have good summer tyres on and there is a metre of snow on the road! They can prevent you from continuing on the grounds of endangerment, but there are no fines YET. The current legislation is advisory, therefore they cannot impose fines.
When the law is ratified then the fines will apply - starting at 80 Euro but it is still unclear when this will be.

MULLEY · Post by **MULLEY** » Tue Nov 23, 2010 9:12 pm

TBH it makes perfect sense when going to that part of europe as its damn cold & theres snow every year, so its a safety thing. I'm sure i've mentioned before loads of times, they aren't that expensive & have proved bloody invaluable for me over the last few years, won't be without them ever.

Post by **Defender110** » Tue Nov 23, 2010 9:42 pm

Yes but little ol England likes to grind to a hault afte an inch of snow!

MULLEY · Post by **MULLEY** » Tue Nov 23, 2010 10:12 pm

It's great, i usually find the slippiest steepest roads totally empty so can cruise into work & back no worries & don't get held up. And if idiots are going 5mph i just overtake

Post by **Defender110** » Tue Nov 23, 2010 10:21 pm

Thats the whole idea of the Winter Tyre law in Germany they want to be able to prosecute drivers who prevent the flow of traffic because they haven't fitted the correct tyres at a cost to those who have.

Vanny · Post by **Vanny** » Tue Nov 23, 2010 11:40 pm

MULLEY wrote:TBH it makes perfect sense when going to that part of europe as its damn cold & theres snow every year.

Just like wales!

Wooscary · Post by **Wooscary** » Tue Nov 23, 2010 11:56 pm

I'm absolutely not trying to get round the need for them, more wanting to know the law, and also if they will be necessary at that time of year, which it looks like they possibly would be.

Cheers for the thoughts everyone.

So, winter tyres, all year tyres? I don't have any space to store a second set, so is there a model that works all year round?

MULLEY · Post by **MULLEY** » Wed Nov 24, 2010 12:15 am

No idea about the law tbh, perhaps doing some research online may help?

I do believe you can get tyres that are a cross between summer & winter, i suspect they'll be rather pricey, probably won't be available in the correct size to fit a bx.

Nowhere to store a set of wheels, do you live in a flat? I'd just store them outside with a rainproof cover on them out of view & chained together to make stealing them a pain in the ass. Luckily i've got a garage, so no probs, got any mates who would store them for you?

Post by **Defender110** » Wed Nov 24, 2010 10:17 am

Put one under each corner of your bed and just raise your bed a little, increases under bed storage and makes vacuuming underneath much easier. Win win

toddao · Post by **toddao** » Wed Nov 24, 2010 11:12 am

Mat just nudged me towards this thread. What sort of vehicle are you taking to Berlin anyway? Maybe it isn't 'Grüne Plakette' ( green badge) eligible and you can't 'legally' drive into the city. I drove through Tübingen yesterday which is an 'Unwelt Zone' ( environment zone) in my BX which has no kind of environmental credentials or 'Plakette' - there are three grades - red, yellow and green. Let us know what you're driving. Or look at this

http://www.umwelt-plakette.de/int_engla ... 01f15866b3

I wouldn't worry at all about the tyres. Highly unlikely to cause trouble.

Mickey taker · Post by **Mickey taker** » Wed Nov 24, 2010 11:20 am

just found this

http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/sa ... hains.html