Monday, December 01, 2003
Achtung on the autobahn!
In our Mercedes A160 on to the speed-limitless autobahn (motorway) of Germany....or so I thought...
It's all a myth!
There are signs suggesting a recommended speed limit of 130 km/h (80 mph) are posted along most autobahns, while urban sections and a few dangerous stretches sometimes have posted speed limits as "low" as 100 km/h (62 mph).
There are the "automated police officers" alongside certain stretches of autobahn. Special radar-linked police cameras are stationed over the roadway ready to take a revealing snapshot of you and your car at any time of the day or night.
I read from the internet that...
Apparently, some German drivers were finding these photos incriminating in another way: their spouses were less than happy when, in the radar-trap photo, they saw someone else sitting next to their partner, someone of the opposite sex who was not supposed to be there. To avoid a higher German divorce rate, the police have ceased sending the actual photos to the offender's home. Now when the traffic ticket arrives in the mail, the person caught in the act has to go down to the police station to view the "camera police" photo and protest the charges.
Now, we wonder whether our photo was taken by the polizei (police) in Germany!
Photo: Driving in Europe in our Mercedes A160
Camera: Canon IXUS 400
* Achtung means "attention" in German.
In our Mercedes A160 on to the speed-limitless autobahn (motorway) of Germany....or so I thought...
It's all a myth!
There are signs suggesting a recommended speed limit of 130 km/h (80 mph) are posted along most autobahns, while urban sections and a few dangerous stretches sometimes have posted speed limits as "low" as 100 km/h (62 mph).
There are the "automated police officers" alongside certain stretches of autobahn. Special radar-linked police cameras are stationed over the roadway ready to take a revealing snapshot of you and your car at any time of the day or night.
I read from the internet that...
Apparently, some German drivers were finding these photos incriminating in another way: their spouses were less than happy when, in the radar-trap photo, they saw someone else sitting next to their partner, someone of the opposite sex who was not supposed to be there. To avoid a higher German divorce rate, the police have ceased sending the actual photos to the offender's home. Now when the traffic ticket arrives in the mail, the person caught in the act has to go down to the police station to view the "camera police" photo and protest the charges.
Now, we wonder whether our photo was taken by the polizei (police) in Germany!
Photo: Driving in Europe in our Mercedes A160
Camera: Canon IXUS 400
* Achtung means "attention" in German.
