Simply transfer points in Flensburg to someone else for a few hundred euros – is that okay? No, say many experts. But opinions differ as to how this approach can be prevented. At the traffic court day in Goslar from January 24th, a possible new criminal offense for this points trading will be debated.
“This is a crazy mess,” says Siegfried Brockmann, who heads accident research at the German Insurance Association. The option of so-called points trading is primarily used by people who already have a lot of points – and who are threatened with having their driving license revoked for at least six months. The points have been the most effective method against these people so far.
In Brockmann’s opinion, a new criminal offense could increase the pressure on the perpetrators. However, he doubts that points trading can really be stopped in this way. After all, the crime would first have to be discovered. For example, through a very time-consuming and personnel-intensive check of alleged perpetrator information.
This is how points trading works
Until now, it has often happened like this: the police send a letter to the owner of a vehicle that has been flashed because the driver cannot be identified beyond doubt. A third person then reports to the police and states that he was behind the wheel, as the head of the legal center at the General German Automobile Club (ADAC), Markus Schäpe, explains. The third party can be a friend or a person whose service can be purchased online through corresponding companies in other EU countries.
The problem: Since the alleged driver reports himself to the authorities and is not identified by the actual driver, criminal offenses are avoided. Legally, this is not a false suspicion. Pretending to commit a crime does not apply either, as the relevant traffic offenses are only misdemeanors. If the dizziness is discovered, all that remains is to punish the traffic violation, says Schäpe. Fines authorities lack the legal means to further pursue the offenses and, for example, report them. A criminal offense can provide relief here – if only as a threatening backdrop.
No reliable numbers
According to Schäpe, there are no reliable figures on how often points trading is carried out. However, it does happen from time to time. Drivers who are about to get their eighth point are likely to be among the people most likely to take advantage of the system. If you get eight points, your driving license will be revoked; a new one may only be issued after six months at the earliest. According to the ADAC legal officer, around 5,000 people reach this threshold every year. “These are the unteachable people who pose a major threat to road safety,” says Schäpe.
The police union is calling for the legal loophole to be closed immediately. Traffic accidents are not a side effect of road traffic, “but are almost always the consequences of avoidable human error.” Excessive speed, distraction by cell phones and driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs can only be curbed through sufficient controls and effective sanctions.
The Automobile Club of Germany, however, considers the current legal situation to be sufficient. False statements would certainly be noticed and there would then be sufficient means to take action against the perpetrators. The car club advises people who are threatened with a crime to get a lawyer. The German Lawyers’ Association also represents this view. According to the lawyers’ association, there have been various court rulings on points trading so far. There is therefore a real possibility that criminal proceedings will be initiated against people who try to outsmart fine authorities. In addition, logbook requirements could also be imposed – even if points trading itself is not punished.
Fewer offenses punished with points
In 2022, points were distributed to drivers for administrative offenses or criminal offenses in around 4.1 million cases, according to the Federal Motor Transport Authority’s driving fitness register. Accordingly, the number has fallen steadily since 2019. At that time there were still around 4.7 million cases. Most drivers receive points for administrative offenses and not in connection with criminal offenses: around 3.9 million times in 2022.
A well-known example of an offense that can be punished with points is excessive speed. People in Germany were flashed 127,000 times in 2022. The number has stagnated at around this level for years: 144,000 speed camera photos were taken in 2021 and 2020, and 138,000 in 2019.
Another example is drunk driving. 117,000 violations were detected here in 2022, as the Federal Motor Transport Authority announced. This number has also been relatively stable in recent years: 116,000 cases were registered in 2019.
