Court prohibits going it alone
Dusseldorf is not allowed to impose a fine on autoposers
September 2, 2022, 4:10 p.m
PS fans are happy: The Düsseldorf administrative court overturns a decision by the city that prohibits car poses and wants to punish them with a fine. The city cannot enact local traffic rules and can only demand a fine, they say. The last would hardly shock the scene if the city defends itself.
The city of Düsseldorf is not allowed to forbid so-called autoposers to show themselves off, nor to impose fines on them. That was the decision of the Düsseldorf administrative court and thus the lawsuit of a 22-year-old driver was granted.
The city had accused the plaintiff of driving off at a traffic light in March 2021 with a 500 hp car with a loud engine roaring in order to attract the attention of passers-by. She banned him from autoposing anywhere in the city for a period of three years. If he did it again, she threatened him with a fine of 5,000 euros. If people are endangered, it is even 10,000 euros.
A fine of up to 100 euros would be possible
The administrative court has now reversed this. The city cannot issue its own traffic rules for its area. Road traffic in Germany is regulated by federal law. According to this, car posing as a violation of the road traffic regulations can only be punished with a fine of 80 to 100 euros. “I never received a fine for the incident,” said the plaintiff, causing astonishment and inquiries from the judges’ bench. “Fines make no impression on the scene,” said the city representative. “They didn’t try to find out whether that was the case with the plaintiff,” the judge remarked.
The local regulatory authority cannot apply stricter standards and cannot issue its own traffic bans, the court explained in the verdict. The court allowed an appeal against the verdict.