If you overlook signs on the road, you endanger yourself and others. If multiple notices are ignored, judges often assume intent – how does that affect the sentence?
If you intentionally drive too fast on the freeway, you have to reckon with harsher consequences. If the speed is reduced in stages on a route, several signs are often put up.
In such a case, a driver cannot claim that he negligently overlooked the signs. Rather, he must then expect a higher fine. This is shown by a judgment by the district court of Castrop-Rauxel (Az.: 6 OWi-264 Js 1170/22-486/22), to which the ADAC refers.
The case: On a three-lane motorway, the speed was throttled in stages by a speed funnel – from initially 120 km/h to 100 km/h and finally to 80 km/h. A driver drove 147 kilometers per hour on the route. After deducting the tolerance limit due to the manual measurement, his remaining speed was still 135 km/h.
The result: he received a fine of 480 euros as well as two points in Flensburg and a month’s driving ban. The driver appealed against this. His argument: He negligently overlooked the 80 km/h limit. The authority insisted on payment. The matter went to court.
In the end, the court sentenced the man to a fine of 960 euros. The reason: He intentionally exceeded the speed. Because it is not credible that the driver did not see the signs. The traffic signs were placed twice on both sides of the motorway before the measurement. In addition to the reduction from Tempo 120 to 80, there was also a danger sign for bumps.
Properly posted road signs cannot have escaped the notice of an attentive driver. In addition, the measured value was correctly determined by the officials with a generous tolerance deduction. Since the driver had exceeded the speed by 68 percent, the court assumed intent and doubled the fine.