The catalog of fines is the dictionary for the street. However, while the German spelling dictionary exposes every spelling mistake, no matter how small, the catalog of fines ensures law and order in the hustle and bustle of German road traffic and is therefore the best friend of friends and assistants. Instead of comma rules or upper and lower case letters, driving bans, fines and the distribution of points in Flensburg are written down in the catalog of fines.

The traffic on German roads is constantly changing. For this reason, the Road Traffic Act (StVO) was changed on April 28, 2020 by the Federal Ministry of Transport and with it the Ordinance on Fines Catalog (BKatV). However, as early as July, the changes to the renewed catalog of fines proved to be invalid due to a failed legal formality.

In this guide you can read about the new features of the updated catalog of fines and whether they are even valid in your state. We also clarify some legal questions that may arise in this context and what happens if you were driving too fast on the country road on a sunny weekend on a sunny weekend.

1. New catalog of fines? A formal error makes the difference

2. What applies in your federal state: Old or new StVO and BKatV?

3. Flashed and now? Your rights, just in case

4. Alternative: Off to the racetrack

5. You will find the right car with us!

At the end of April this year, the Federal Ministry of Transport presented a renewal of the road traffic regulations. The supplied new fine catalog regulation had a small catch and was initially overridden by almost all federal states. The reason: A formality - the paragraph that asserts the legal basis for driving bans was not correctly marked at the beginning of the new catalog of fines.

The tightening of the penalties for exceeding the permitted maximum speed was one of the central goals of the new BKatV. The idea: Exceeding speeds of at least 21 km / h in urban areas and 26 km / h outside of urban areas should be punished with a one-month driving ban in the future. These more stringent regulations were initially withdrawn by all federal states due to the lack of a legal basis. Read in the next section whether the new road traffic regulations and the catalog of fines regulation are valid in your state.

The legal position in question in the new catalog of fines affects fans of four-wheelers throughout Germany, from Audi R8 drivers in Ingolstadt to Porsche Panamera enthusiasts in Zuffenhausen. At this point we would like to shed some light on the darkness of the paragraphs and explain to you what drivers in the various federal states have to consider.

Almost all federal states have agreed to override the new catalog of fines until further notice. In its place, the previous catalog of fines applies again. The federal states of Bremen and Thuringia are two exceptions to this agreement. The north German Hanseatic city would like to be the only federal state to keep the new catalog of fines and simply ignore the stricter regulations on driving bans and points in Flensburg. Thuringia initially operates according to the following principle: traffic violations will continue to be registered by the police, but will only be punished in the future if the legality of the current catalog of fines has been confirmed.

However, one thing applies to all federal states - the new road traffic regulations. Unlike the new Ordinance on Fines Catalog, this is legally harmless and legally valid. For example, the new StVO offers some advantages for owners of electric vehicles and provides for more exclusive and discounted parking spaces for electric cars in cities. If you want to benefit from these advantages or are simply fascinated by the relentless torque of an electric car, take a look at our current offer. From the Porsche Taycan to Tesla Model S and X - we have an extensive portfolio of high-quality electric vehicles.

Almost everyone knows it: on a sunny weekend you want to finally wake up the dormant horsepower under the hood and drive out all the gears of your sports car. But before you know it, a thunderstorm of flashlights breaks out despite the sunshine - a speed trap. We answer the most important questions that need to be considered in such cases.

What can you do first? If you have already received a notice of fines, check whether the respective offense is even listed in the old catalog of fines. If this refers to a regulation from the new, invalid catalog of fines, you can lodge an objection within 14 days and request an adjustment.

Is the fine amount correct? Even if you are faced with a higher fine, you can perhaps save a lot of money in the following way: Only pay according to the currently valid catalog of fines, i.e. according to the old BKatV. The fines of the new but invalid version of the regulation are usually much higher. If you have already repented and sent the money, be glad - then you don't have to worry about it anymore. Because here applies: paid is paid.

Do you already have points in Flensburg? Perhaps you are lucky and can have the points you recently acquired involuntarily deleted from the traffic register. The possibility exists if you have received this since the end of April due to the tightened and unlawful BKatV amendment. In this case, your points will even be deleted automatically. Under certain circumstances, you can accelerate this process by sending a written notice to your driver's license office requesting that the Flensburg points be deleted.

Submit your driving license? Out of the question if: You have been traveling too fast for the very first time. As a so-called first-time offender, you can postpone the submission of your driving license to a later date. Otherwise, you can apply for the driving ban to be suspended due to the currently unresolved situation around the BKatV. If your driving license has not been lawfully withdrawn, your authority will send it back to you. However, a whole month can go into the country.

In the German jungle of paragraphs, it can quickly happen that you lose track of things or even the joy of driving. During a brisk drive on the country road behind the next tree, you fear not the forester with the shotgun, but the police officer with the radar gun? Then escape, at least for a weekend, the jungle of paragraphs on German roads and accelerate your sports car on the racetrack.

No matter whether with a race track specialist à la Porsche 997 GT3 RS 4.0 on the Nürburgring, an everyday and family-friendly V8 four-door like the BMW M5 Competition in the Driving Center Groß Dölln, a sleek Cayman GT4 on the Hockenheimring or topless in Audi R8 Spyder with V10 power on the Spreewaldring - we definitely have the right sports car for your driving pleasure.

It will probably take a few weeks or months until the Ministry of Transport has adjusted the new regulation on fines. In the meantime, please contact one of our B&K sports car experts and make an appointment for a personal test drive with your favorite model from our vehicle portfolio.