A question for our German-based contributers... We are intending to go to Bavaria (in particular Munich) this year on holiday and whilst browsing the Munich Tourist Info I came across this:
tinyurl.com/8h977g
I can't see any dates for it and wondered when it started... as my car is brand new and in one of the lower bands I can't see any problem in getting the green one but should I order over the 'net or is it easy to get one when I arrive in Germany and save myself a tenner?
Before anyone suggests that I just avoid those areas covered by this my wife is disabled so we will need to go into the centre of the towns and cities as using public transport is not an option.
And we thought our lot was bad when it came to emmissions!
Edited by b308 on 25/12/2008 at 15:42
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Cars used by disabled people appear to be exempted - see quote.
Affected by possible bans on vehicular traffic are passenger cars, trucks and buses. EXCLUDED are two- and three-wheel motor vehicles, industrial trucks, agricultural and forestry tractors, mobile machinery and equipment, vintage cars, CARS OF DISABLED PEOPLE and motor vehicles operated with special permits.
Edited by Armitage Shanks {p} on 25/12/2008 at 16:10
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Ah yes, the dreaded "Feinstaubplakette". I actually thought that foreign registered vehicles were exempt from this, but apparently not. The legislation came in at the start of this year and has been implemented by most major cities across Germany. In Munich it started in October.
As AS says, if you have a disabled badge your car is exempt. Failing that it's easy to go to any garage, wave your registration document under their nose and watch their bemused expression as they try and copy a british registration number onto the back of the appropriate sticker. It costs 5 Euros and they will issue one on the spot.
If your car is new, you will almost certainly get a green sticker. More problematic is anything older, especially older diesels and pre-Euro 2 petrol cars which will potentially only get a yellow or red sticker.
The idea is that if measured air pollution levels rise above a particular level, cars with a red sticker (or none) will not be allowed into the city. There are signposts at all the entry points into the cities showing which colours are allowed in.
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Thanks AS and BP! I saw the quote but wasn't sure whether I still needed a sticker - the car is a Motablity car and is taxed as such. We were across in Berlin and the Harz last year (July) and didn't see anything!
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I am glad that is cleared up. South Of Munich is the most amazing baroque church you will ever see anywhere, access is good.
www.pbase.com/olga_bulgakova/weisskirche
And also Schloss Linderhof west of Oberammergau if you get down that way. I am a fan of Bavaria, if there is any info I can give you please e mail me (see profile)
Linderhof link www.schlosslinderhof.de/
Edited by Armitage Shanks {p} on 25/12/2008 at 20:29
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With regard to thhe disabled vehicle exemption, please note that most controls will be of parked cars so you need to have your 'blue badge' on display when parked and hope that the traffic warden recognises it - I am not sure but I think the German version is orange. I would buy a green sticker to be on the safe side.
BIG
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Thanks, BIG, we used the Blue Badge in Germany and Belgium last year and didn't have any problems, in fact the Police were very helpful!
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With regard to thhe disabled vehicle exemption please note that most controls will be of parked cars so you need to have your 'blue badge' on display when parked and hope that the traffic warden recognises it - I am not sure but I think the German version is orange. I would buy a green sticker to be on the safe side.
Good point, but if you have a UK registered car in Germany, any tickets you pick up when the car is parked can just be filed under "B" as they won't be followed up.
It's more tricky if you get stopped by the police, as an on the spot fine here is exactly what it says on the tin, it has to be paid there and then. Having said that, I don't see a problem with using the british disabled badge here as I don't think anyone would question it. But a green sticker would make a nice conversation point when you get back to Britain!
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Saw a programme about this a few months ago on German tv, there was a Danish car not displaying in the zone, he got a 40 euro fine and his (Danish) licence details were sent to Flensburg ( comparible with Swansea here ) to get ONE point added to it!
In reality I dont know if his licence was endorsed, however is it worth it for the sake of a fiver??
The coppers on the programme reckoned that there was enough awareness of this issue throughout europe, and therefore ignorance is not an excuse!!
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There is a potential problem here, not just with the German system, but also with its wider implication. Imagine a time when other countries adopt similar registration schemes, you soon will not be able to see out of the windscreen for stickers!
These ideas are OK in principle, but the execution is poor, our own London LEZ being a prime example. Imagine being an overseas motorist who has never heard of the LEZ and ending up with a £200 per day fine for not being Euro 3 compliant.
All these schemes just make for more and more complicated motoring without really providing anything in the way of assistance to the motorists to help them comply with the rules. For the German scheme, you can get a sticker at a garage there, but only if you know of the scheme in the first place, what happens if you have never heard of it?
Sorry for the rant, but these schemes really annoy me:
a) Because they are all different to each other.
b) They are all implemented in different ways.
c) They all cost different amounts of money.
d) It is all too easy to fall foul of them due to ignorance of their existence.
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I'm driving to Italy in February and I have ben informed by Leaseplan that I may need a Umwelteplakette to pass through Germany. The trouble is. how the hell do I know if my route passes through the charging areasnwith out going through my route with a fine tooth comb? The map on the website is vague.
umwelt-plakette.de/int_england.php?SID=uj0duuddgui...2
This is what the site says regards cost:
"For vehicles registered within the EU, we offer this service for ?29,90, for vehicles registered in other European countries the price is ? 39,90. As a special service, we offer to issue your badge not in handwriting, but printed with your license plate for an additional charge of ? 10,00."
If I can get it for 5 Euros from a garage I will wait.
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There are private companies supplying the green badges for an extra charge - the official charge is in the ? 5-6 range. This is a good English expalnation:
www.stuttgart-tourist.de/ENG/ipoint/umweltzonen.htm
umwelt-plakette.de is somewhat expensive.
BIG
Edited by Webmaster on 28/12/2008 at 12:54
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I'm driving to Italy in February and I have ben informed by Leaseplan that I may need a Umwelteplakette to pass through Germany.
Dont pass through Germany. use another route
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>> I'm driving to Italy Dont pass through Germany.
Looking at all the info, if you keep to the Autobahns you should be ok, its just if you go into some of the city centres you may have a problem...
I'll bet that the Black Cab guys are praying that it won't be introduced over here... most of them would fail!
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Not passing through Germany is not a realistic option. I want to get there by the quickest route.
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Not passing through Germany is not a realistic option. I want to get there by the quickest route.
from which channel crossing?
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I'm driving to Italy in February and I have ben informed by Leaseplan that I may need a Umwelteplakette to pass through Germany.
You don't need it to pass through Germany, you need it to enter large cities such as Stuttgart, Munich, Berlin.
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See this:
www.honestjohn.co.uk/redirect.php?http://www.adac....f
Note to earlier posts -it's not available at all garages, only approved workshops, although there are 30,000 of them in Germany! Also at vehicle testing stations and by post. See end of the above document.
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City-centre emission regulations are not new ;they go back to the mid 80s but,of course, at a lower level of emissions.Only cars meeting Stvzo App. XXIII,XXIV or XXV(German national emission regs)were allowed into city centres when there was a "Smog" alert on and,yes, they had a sticker.And if you have your car serviced at a "Tuev" approved garage(see above),you only have to have your car Tuev(our Mot) tested half as frequently as other cars.
Edited by jc2 on 15/05/2009 at 19:45
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You can get these stickers at any www.dekra.de site.
Edited by J500ANT on 15/05/2009 at 20:10
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