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Discussion starter · #23 ·
We need an Autobahn.

I just decided to read something about the Autobahn, and found this little tidbit of German law interesting.

Germany's "highway patrol" -- otherwise known as the Autobahnpolizei -- is usually less visible than the U.S. version, but in a way you may never have suspected.

One of the weapons in their arsenal is the "automated police officer." Along certain stretches of autobahn or highway (Bundesstraße), usually in high-traffic areas, 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. Displayed prominently in this special photograph, besides you and your car, is a record of your speed, the date, the time, and the location. You won't even know what happened until your photographic speeding ticket arrives in the mail a few days later. Although some have tried, these incriminating photos are difficult to fight, and German courts have ruled that the "camera police" are perfectly legal. The photographic police are also located at city intersections to catch drivers who run red lights.

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.
 
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