Citation in Germany
 

>>Has anyone ever received something like this:<<

Yes -- MANY people have.

It is totally legit.

>>I have no idea what I could have done wrong - doubt it was speeding because cars were going 30-40 km:hr faster than us<<

AND?? Very likely they also all got speeding tickets. Being mostly European residents those people will have been notified sooner than you were. Almost nowhere in Europe can you get away with what we do in the States. It isn't like you can safely drive 10 MPH over the limit because some nut job is passing you @ 100 MPH.

If you look at the fine print on your rental contract, they tell you they will provide your information to local authorities when requested and charge an administration fee if that happens.

Maybe it can't be collected if you never drive again in Germany (or rent from Enterprise in Europe) but if you do the crime you should pay the fine IMO. There are many types of infractions other than speeding.

Citation in Germany
 

I received this from my rental ca company following a recent trip in Germany:

We have received notification of a traffic violation that occurred while the vehicle was rented in your name. As we are legally obliged to assist in the prosecution of traffic violations, we have already forwarded your contact data to the appropriate authority upon their request. For this administrative outlay, we assess a processing fee as set out in Section V e.i. of our Terms and Conditions. As explained and confirmed via your signature in the section 'Inclusion of Terms and Conditions' on the front side of your rental contract, we will charge your credit card with an amount of EUR 20.00 within 10 days.

Any ideas what it might be? I doubt speeding as most cars were going 30-40 km/hr faster than us.

Further, I live in the US - what are the chances they can actually collect this?

I have never received such a notice.

Thanks much!

Jason

Probably speeding, (or going too slow if you were much slower than the other traffic) and it won't be very much. Just pay it. They offer lots of ways to make it easy for foreigners to pay.

I agree. Pay the fine. You never know when you might go back to Germany, and you don't want any problems if/when you do.

Your two threads have been merged

Did you call enterprise? It might take a while for the ticket from Germany to show up. I suppose the fee from enterprise was a convenience fee but they might know what the ticket was actually for in Germany. There are many cameras on the roads.

ok - next time I will stay in the right lane and make sure I do not go 1 mph over the speed limit.

You are required to stay in the right lane unless you are overtaking. Maybe not doing so is why you got a citation.

Welcome to fodors btw. We love public transportation in Germany and if you don't tell my brother never paid his fine years ago, has been back but his inlaws drove since they live there. I think his was a parking ticket.

That ^^^

As I mentioned there are lots of things that will earn you a ticket . . . including driving in any lane other than the slow lane except to overtake/pass. So yes, if you were tooling along in the middle lane -- that alone could get you cited.

Whe you get it the citation will tell you what you did wrong and probably include a photo of you doing it. It will almost certainly be in English and will tell you how to pay. They have lots of ways and it is really easy.
Yes experience speaking - DH go one recently from the Black Forest, going 5km/h too fast. It wasn't much money.
Wrie it down to experience and add it to your trip souvenirs. I hope the trip was a good one.

I didn't know they had cameras that sophisticated in Germany to give out all kinds of traffic infractions, wouldn't that involve a person scrutinizing every one? I mean in reference to the passing issue. Not to mention videographing someone over a longer period of time to see they were driving in the left lane for a long time. I've never heard of that and don't see how they'd do that.

Where I live, cameras just deal with basic facts, speeding or going through red lights. They are stationery and can only photo a car at one or a few points of time (ie, just below light, during light, just after).

Umtox, everyone is guessing but please come back and tell us where you think the ticket came from? I would also like to know what it was for. We drive in Germany and very interested.

Yep - we are 'guessing'. But not actually guessing - more that we are explaining there are several infractions that result in tickets. It probably was speeding (especially since the OP assumed driving slower than other cars gets him off the hook). But it could have also been driving too slow, driving in a passing lane, or any number of things. On the autobahn or in a city or town. Cameras catch all sorts of things.

I will report what it is when I find out. Much helpful advice, with some foreboding replies sprinkled in - seems some view a ticket a virtual guarantee with big brother practically tailing your car 24/7. Nonetheless, I appreciate the thoughts and will let you all know.

>> seems some view a ticket a virtual guarantee with big brother practically tailing your car 24/7.<<

Just be glad you weren't driving in Italy :)

Considering in Italy every single camera is announced in advance by road signs I'm not sure that statement makes much sense. If you get a ticket in Italy it's the other drivers who should be worried.

That's before you factor in that today everybody from Google maps,Waze,TomTom and others show the various traffic cameras to drivers.

Not to mention that Google Maps and Waze track you constantly and send that info back to Alphabet. Who knows what they do with it.

The cameras are mostly digital and only record the thing they are set to record. They do record evey vehicle going through them unless they are part of an average or a variable speed area, such as you have on sections of the M25 round London. Then they are linked together and do follow you through that section, but no further, and if you are withtin the average speed your data is destroyed.
If you don't want to be recorded don't break the law.

You may not get the actual citation in the end anyway, only the admin fee from the rental company. It depends somewhat on whther they think it is worth trying to get the money out of you.

If it makes you feel better-last year just after my husband arrived to meet me in Europe he got a speeding ticket in Seattle for going 1 mile over in a 20 mph zone in a school zone with no children present (if we had been there he would have fought that one), and then when we got home, we got a speeding ticket from the Netherlands for going 2KM over in a very low speed area AND a parking ticket in Aix for missing our meter by 1 minute! It was a very expensive holiday! We paid them all and it was fairly expensive. The only break we caught was that since we use the car lease program we didn't get the car rental fees tagged on too!

One lesson I learned is that at least for the parking meters is that I use phone apps that allow me extend the time-not all meters use them but when they do I always at least have the option of extending my parking time. For the "speeding" I always put cruise control on 1-2 KM less than the speed limits but in the cities that won't help of course. So we just try to be as careful as possible.

You would have been going 9km/h too fast to get a fine from the Netherlands. They allow an error of 7km/h and do not issue fines if you are recorded going 7km/h or less too fast in a speed limit lower than 100km/h. Betwee 100 and 120km/h you are allowed 108km/h, and in 130 you are allowed 136km/h.
9km/h too fast in a 30km/zone is actually serious speeding when you think about it.

We were on a road in Gröningen but not in the historic center but still in a city area and we were going really slowly so I guess maybe it had to have been 7 over (which is just over 5 mph) but I do remember thinking I was surprised. I have never gotten a "PV" as they call it in France because I am ultra conscientious of using my cruise control.

It's easily done, and you were just unlucky. Our street is a 30 zone but I think most people drive faster. You were probably just going with the flow as well. I am amazed you could speed anywhere around Groningen, it is always such a traffic snarl up. Unless we have to go to the Ikea we either take the train or park and ride there.
I hope all your fines didnt put you off!

Flitsmeister app is helpful in the Netherlands (but illegal in France).

It was actually a Sunday-we were staying at a lovely property just outside the city called Van der Valk Hotel Groningen Westerbroek. So we just drove into town to eat some Thai food :) And yes we were kind of just going with the flow-but got unlucky in my opinion-but it happens. That whole trip was like that-a week before we left with the US my DH had a medical issue that came up so we had to reschedule everything last minute so that was costly-then the day of his medical procedure here in the US the construction company managed to flood our condo building so we had to go to a hotel for a week. Then in Europe we got all the tickets (that we have never gotten in 40 years of going to Europe) and then I managed to tear a ligament in my foot and had to have handicapped assistance at the Nice airport, Gatwick and Seattle airport because I couldn't walk more than 3 meters or so!

But we just assumed it was our turn to win the bad luck lottery and really in the scheme of things, it wasn't so bad! You just have to keep smiling if you love to travel :)

And for sure the ticket didn't put us off hetismij2-we loved all of the Netherlands! We hadn't explored much outside of Amsterdam! And you were a big part of us having such a nice trip-so thank you for that! You really helped me that year as well since if you might remember we were driving from Denmark back to France and wanted to see more of the Netherlands. We loved it and will be back-but boy will I drive slowly! Or, even better, next time hopefully with no foot injuries I will come by train :)

Driving is still a good way to see the country - lots of places can't be reached easily by public transport sadly, or if they can it takes an age to do it. Where I live is a case in point - it takes 3 to 4 hours to get to Amsterdam from here by train, and a bit over an hour by car. Though car parking in Amsterdam is a total pain and expensive, luckily the park and rides are good and cheaper.

I got one merging on the beltway in DC, 5 over and trying to get the hell out of the way. 120.00 on a camera ticket. It sucks but how do you merge into that fast ftraffic without hitting the gas. My friend got two in one day coming and going on the DC beltway in the same spot. I love public transportation more and more.

I now budget 200 Euro extra to pay fines whenever I plan a driving vacation in Europe. I always manage to crest a hill and immediately incur a fine as I have entered the town proper. A few years ago, after an incident of being photographed entering a German village. I drove back to the town, stopping in the mayors office and asking to pay my fine, hoping to eliminate the rental car company's "convenience fee." The mayor said he could not help me as the cameras were administered by an outside company. He loved that I stopped, we had a great conversation and he sent me on my way with a bottle of schnapps.

I have even gotten a speeding ticket inside a Swiss mountain tunnel for exceeding the speed limit.

I did get the "convenience fee" charge from the rental car company but never received a ticket in the mail.

Some of my favorite memories and stories of European travel. I think I have a total of five over the years.

Huggy I feel your pain! And like you I try my best to avoid the tickets but just have to be sort of philosophical about it. I think one of the common threads I see in this discussion is also sort of what I feel-I sort of resent getting a ticket for a few miles over in a slow zone when I spend most of my time in Europe looking at the backsides of cars passing me :)

Not uncommon in mountain tunnels. Also common in tunnels in Germany.
Cameras with an undetectable infrared "flash" so not to blind the driver.

Compared with our neighbors, penalties for traffic violations are on the mild side.
You pay €35 when you go 70kph in town with a 50kph speed limits. 20kph over the limits is already pretty much outside the norm of regular speeding. You also cannot get arrested for speeding (unless you drive like a maniac). Speeding is also not a "crime", legally it's something below a misdemenour in Germany. Nothing that will shock anyone.

In France you probably have to sell your newborn to pay traffic fines. Two of your kids in the Nordics.
Often the fee imposed by the rental car company will be higher than the actual fine in Germany.

Usually, for foreigners the major PITA is to may the administrative fee as often you cannot pay by card.

jpie as I said you were going at least 9km/h over the limit to get a fine for 2km/h and when you think about it in a 30 zone that is going a third too fast, so not just a little bit too fast bit proportionately a lot too fast. 30 zones normally have bikes on the road with you, and priority from the right so you need to drive at 30 or less for everyone's safety.
If it was a lower limit because of roadworks you would get a double fine, but they still allow the 7km/h error as obviously not every car speedo is accurately calibrated, unlike the sppeed camera.