Leadfoot v. Johnny Law

Jim received his first speeding ticket last week. We were driving back from a hike in the Eifel over a month ago when we saw the telltale flash. In Germany, police officers don’t waste their time pulling people over for speeding. Unfortunately, unlike France where there are warning signs for the speed cameras, the German police use hidden cameras.

We had heard that by law you received your ticket by mail within two weeks. So after two weeks, we thought we were in the clear. Unfortunately, our elation was premature.

Surprisingly the ticket was only 20 euro. In the U.S. parking tickets can be more than that. We know someone here in Bonn who got a 60 euro ticket on their bike so we were shocked by our 20 euro speeding ticket.

It’s ironic that Jim never got a speeding ticket in the U.S. where there are speed limits everywhere but got one instead in the land of the autobahn.