Red round sticker on the car?
That can get really expensive
Created: 09/28/2022, 09:30 am
By: Marcus Efler
A large police sticker on the car, the "red dot", promises a lot of trouble: the vehicle must be removed immediately.
That's what matters now.
Whether in quiet residential areas or on the edge of arterial roads as well as in industrial areas: you often see vehicles that are not registered.
Sometimes they don't have a license plate at all, in other cases the only thing missing is the sticker from a registration office.
Sooner or later, these unused cars, motorcycles or parked caravans will have something else for them: the "red dot".
The large sticker in a color that can hardly be overlooked is emblazoned on unregistered vehicles as well as on those that are clearly not roadworthy, so it can also decorate bicycles or e-scooters that are ready to be scrapped.
It is not attached by the municipal traffic control, but by the police themselves - because annoyed residents informed them, or because the "illegal" vehicle was noticed by a patrol.
Red sticker on the car?
It's getting expensive now
Now the trouble is here: red dot on a car.
(Iconic image) © M.Zettler/Imago
Exactly what happens or should happen to that is explained in a long text in small print.
The most important thing is right in the first paragraph: The holder or owner is "hereby requested to remove the vehicle immediately and not to park it again on public traffic".
Emphasis on 'immediately': the word is bold and underlined, and the 'beneficiary' (keeper or owner) should take it extremely seriously.
Because what can now follow is sometimes also written on it: “Parking vehicles or trailers that are not ready for operation.
"It constitutes an administrative offense and can be punished with a fine of up to €1,000." After one month, the vehicle is also considered "waste" and will be disposed of.
Imminent fine: up to 100,000 euros.
Plus costs for towing and disposal.
Red sticker on the car?
A fine of 100,000 euros is threatened
Incidentally, the excuse that you didn't see the red dot because you live somewhere else or because someone scratched it off again doesn't apply.
The wheels of justice are definitely turning.
According to the current catalog of fines, a fine of 70 euros and a Flensburg point (the status of which can be queried by smartphone, by the way) are almost certain.
A missing license plate does not protect you from punishment, because the police also ask around in the neighborhood who owns the vehicle.
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Lack of insurance coverage can also be expensive.
The classic is the deregistered motorcycle, which is actually parked quite inconspicuously on the side of the road and which is blowing in an autumn storm.
The cost of treating an injured pedestrian or repairing a car that is unable to avoid an accident can be significant.
Anyone who obediently “removes their red dot vehicle immediately” can of course only do so legally: either registered and insured (alternatively with a red number) on their own or by tow truck or trailer.