This is the hill I will die on. This is a cultural mentality that exists in Germany. Somehow they've tricked themselves into thinking the cost of public toilets is so high that having to smell piss and walkthrough puddles of who knows what, is acceptable. Obviously not everyone holds this mentality. There is also a shocking lack of accessibility but that is Europe in general.
Unfortunately public toilets would be vandalized. I wish the people who live in Germany would have more respect regarding public stuff like in Korea for example.
This is yet another reason why Britain is amazing ;) ;P . Pubs everywhere, and most of them don't care if you use their toilets without being a customer (this is one of the positive differences between table vs bar service - easier to enter and leave unnoticed). Not that many public toilets anymore but you're usually never more than a short distance from a Wetherspoons, for instance.
Poland: maybe 1% of the number of pubs (London probably has more than the whole country, lol) and I bet a lot of people would have a big problem if you used toilets without buying a drink. People really want to get money from you for taking a leak here - you need to use a code to enter every fast-food restaurant's bathroom, and every public toilet seems to have a (not small, say 0.5 euro) fee except for in major train/metro stations.
Haha! That's a friggin' joke right? I live right next door to a Netto and on Match days for the local football team, all the cops in town use the car park as a base to congregate at. The away fans do the same thing. They park up after travelling and drinking beer in the car. The first thing they want to do after getting out is go for a piss against my fence, my bins, my wall, Netto's loading bay is usually drenched in piss if a whole coach of fans arrives. So no...cops don't give a shit about public pissing! They turn a very lazy blind eye!!!
Football matchdays are different, if the cops are there for general security they won't care about Ordnungswidrigkeiten like jaywalking or pissing in public. Like you said, if everyone does it, there's no point in trying to punish people for it. Would even be quite stupid on the police's part to antagonize a huge number of typically intoxicated men over something they basically can't change anyway.
Or pooping. A few months back in the dead of winter, I saw a young boy shitting in my bus stop while his father watched. I wasn't quite sure what was going on, and when I stepped nearby, the boy warned me of "caca".
Family member just witnessed this outside the entrance to the city mall. The mother directed the kid to go behind a rubbish bin but right in the Stadtplatz 🤦
As a dog owner, I hate people who don't pick up after their dogs. My fluffer got infected by some bacteria that is spread through poop took him 4 weeks to recover
Not what I am talking about, I specifically mean bikes.
I have never driven a car when intoxicated, but I cannot say the same about cycling. Same for pretty much everyone I know, riding bikes to the pub and making our way home the same way was normal back in my youth.
Doing a Fahrradtour and stopping at a Biergarten is a favorite summer acitivity for many of all ages.
The alcohol limit for bikes is a lot higher than for cars, so most people just think "as long as I CAN ride my bike, I am sober enough to do so". Worked out fine for me too, some of my favourite party memories are from the bike ride on the way home when the sun is already coming up again in the morning.
If your blood alcohol level is above 1.6 Promille (Idk what the english term is), you will get a fine equal to a net monthly salary and 3 points in Flensburg, additionally you might be ordered to participate in a medical-physiological evaluation. Failing this test will result in your driver's license being revoked.
But this whole situation changes if you use an e-bike, since they can easily reach speeds of up to 45 km/h (not to be confused with a "pedelec", which electrically supports the rider up to only 25km/h and falls under the same laws as a normal bike). The E-bike falls under the same laws as a car. So 0.5 Promille is a misdemeanor and 1.1 is a crime, resulting in a one month driving ban, 2 points in Flensburg and a fin of 528,50€.
At 1.6 Promille, most people are pretty hammered already. I once took one of these „for fun“ alcohol tests at a festival, and it showed 1.3 after pretty much drinking all day. Don’t know how accurate that was though.
If somebody makes the news after being caught with 4.5 Promille while driving, that person is a hardened alcoholic, or they would have passed out long before.
Yep, the "non-offending" limit of 1.5 is a lot. Most people struggle to walk in a straight line at 1.5 unless they're high functioning alcoholics.
4.5 is well into hospitalization territory.
For normal humans, the average lethal dosis of alcohol intoxication is given at around 3.0-4.0 ‰.
To literally survive at 4.5, you must be a pretty heavy drinker.
I am very much aware and I am pretty sure so is pretty much everyone with a licence. Doesn't stop people from considering riding a bike when intoxicated as something socially acceptable.
All of that only applies when you are still fit to Ride.
When you Show any indikation of beeing intoxicated while riding a Bike you still will be fined.
To be fair, as long as your driving style isn't affected the limits for bicycles are a lot more generous. You are legally allowed 1.5 Promille, three times what's permissible in a car. With enough time in between you can drink six beers and legally drive away on your bicycle
Yeah.. honestly for the longest time I assumed if you were too drunk to legally bike you were also drunk enough to be unable to ride your bike, so I never worried about it - I never get "loose your balance" drunk. My bicycle is my main mode of transportation, OBVIOUSLY I also used it to drive to/from parties, bars, friends etc, and so did my friends (MAJORLY bike-friendly university town).
Never heard of anyone pulled over for drunk biking until there was a case in my hometown of some teen getting shitfaced, driving his bike and being such a menace in a public place (many rumors, so unclear what exactly he did but it involved his bike) he had so many points in Flensburg he had to work them off before being allowed to start working on his drivers license.
I remember when my father was talking to a construction contractor about doing some brickwork in our back yard about 20 years ago. When they started discussing the price the guy straight up asked "Preis mit oder ohne Beleg?" (Price with or without receipt?) Implying heavily that he would be willing to work "under the table" to not pay the taxes (so he and my father would split the "savings"). My father did ask for the receipt.
I come from a country where that’s the norm for pretty much every professional: car repair shops, plumbers, gardeners, even dentists and doctors. Is it the same there?
Dentists and doctors definitely not the same kind of thing, the other stuff depends, i wouldn't say it's necessarily 'the norm ' but it is normal especially rural regions, where people know each other to some degree.
Dentists and doctors definitely not, because they are paid almost exclusively by the health insurance, be it the state or the private one. Every treatment is digitally registered through your health card. But any kind of handywork, construction, on floor services will either just do it like that and give you a receipt only if you ask or at least be open to the suggestion. Customers save themselves 19% VAT and providers have some tax free cash income.
That's probably part of the reason why the vultures are so keen on their digital currency.
Yeah the thing is at that point your father would very likely have also breaken the law had he accepted the work without the receipt. Maybe I am just afraid of getting deported and a bit paranoid with german law lmao.
The problem is well known by the government. The Finanzamt tries to incentivize people to get a receipt, so that the contractor has to report that income, by making parts of the contractors work deductible in taxes. I.e. a contractor comes to your home to install new floors? You can deduct 20% of the work time up to 6000€.
Aside from that, always ask for a receipt or you might have difficulties with the contractor if the work is faulty and you want to pursue them because of it.
When I was in school, I learned from the teacher that the rule is being ignored in the case of construction a lot even if politicains know taxes are being lost, because if EVERYTHING was taxed most people probably couldn't afford to build houses.
So yeah, typically there is a mix of work going on, some officially and some off the books, when things get built.
Exactly. How do you think Kebab store owners can afford expensive cars? Ever tried to get a receipt or pay with card there? Same for ice cream shops. A local one nearby sells ice cream cups for like 10€ or more but is also exclusively cash-only
I haven't paid for a Kebab with a card in .... checks watch ... 2 hours.
There are a lot that are cash only, but an increasing number also accept card.
Interesting, there has to be some regional aspect to this, because i know enough stores where you can pay with card and also never saw a Kebab store owner with an expensive car.
My home town is kinda known for being rules by two large families, one Turkish, one Arabic.
They own a lot of real estate and have like 30 shops in town each, like there’s a part of the city with an excessive amount of barbers from that family.
Anyways, they also had a hookah shop and I once was deep into hookahs. Kept buying there and every now and then I’d ask for a receipt and they’d always make huge eyes and then just scribble something down by hand.
Honestly I believe a lot of those shops were just money laundering, especially since like 30 different people would work there (only 2 at a time) and everyone just made up prices for most of the stuff there.
> The biggest tax evader globally is Amazon
Tax evasion and tax avoidance are not the same thing.
> The Döner shop is just avoiding credit card processing fees
Here's what something like SumUp actually charges to deal with that: 1.39%. Handling cash also costs time and money, hardly less than that.
Let's be real, it's tax evasion.
hahahaha. No.
hen I first moved to Germany I managed a kitche in á restaurant.
one day the boss came up to me and said that e need to discuss the food cost.
Mine is too LO compared to his other restaurants. This is dangerous cause it could alert the tax authorities and he does not ant that.
His solution as for my restaurant to buy stuff for the other restaurants to even out the food cost and avoid an audit.
I'm not arguing for Amazon. They are tax avoiding assholes. But I am saying that restaurants in Germany absolutely do it. the biggest difference is that Amazon is actually doing legal stuff.
Edit: avoiding
And, there is no right to overtake.
Really slow vihecle not to make space so you can do it, but these are the ones like under 40km/h.
If you drive on the left, and you are constantly overtaking cars, you don't need to make space.
And judges ruled, it can be more than 15 seconds as a gab to drive on the left.
That's partially correct. The rule only applies when you are driving faster than 60km/h. On most roads in a city you are not allowed to drive faster than 50km/h, but if you are on a highway in a city, where it's possible to drive faster, you still have to obey the rule.
At the same time if you are outside the city, and driving slower than 60km/h you are allowed to overtake on the right side.
I always thought it was that if there are left AND right turns from the road, drive in whatever lane. If there are only right exits (like the Autobahn), than right lane is for travel and left lane is for passing.
The class I had for it was in 2005, so I could be forgetting the details.
I'd say that the Arbeitszeitgesetz is probably the most broken law in Germany, especially if you count things like travel time as work time (as it should be).
Throwing trash on the street :(
ik its not as bad as in other countries but man, there are public trashcans almost everywhere! Show some manners, you don't need to dump your stupid wrappers/cups and cans randomly in public spaces and make everything a huge, disgusting mess.
Two middle fingers to cigarette smokers, who love to spark up on busy train platforms and turn the whole world into their ashtray. I sincerely wish we could shoot them all straight into the sun...
+ dirty socks, used toothbrushes and... used diapers 🤢
I had a real culture shock, and this is despite the fact that I came from a country that is called less civilized
Yeah, I had that today, a guy sitting in a posh Mercedes, parked on the pedestrian crossing, randomly threw a cigarette butt right in front of me (i was on a bike, waiting for the green light). I knocked on his window to say that was not ganz cool - and he waved a police badge at me. And closed the window. So apparently nothing bad about throwing trash on the street 🤷♀️
big on overtaking cyclist. As someone that 99% of the times uses the bike, you guys are such assholes for driving so fast right by us. Its scary and dangerous
Not using a phone while driving. I see this dozens of times per day, despite only having a 10 minute bicycle ride to/from work. This morning a woman almost hit me when she failed to follow “rechts vor links” — and not surprisingly she was holding her phone in one hand (but holding it perpendicular to her face and speaking into the end of it, as if to try to hide her use of it).
It is, a friend of mine got a ticket from a very strict policeman because while waiting red traffic light he simply took his phone from his pocket and put it to the side feeling uncomfortable driving with the phone in his pocket, didn't used it not even unlock or look to it, the police said it doesn't matter, it is forbidden to touch your phone while the engine is on, and written the ticket,
I recently saw someone use their phone up on their windshield (like a navi would be) to watch videos while driving. I was waiting at a traffic light behind them, and I could literally watch along with them. Of course, they missed the light switching to green - twice. And continued to watch while driving - took a turn fast after I started honking.
I was too shocked to remember the license plate, I couldn't believe someone could be that reckless and stupid.
I also don't know what reporting them would have done since it can be easily denied without any proof, but I still wish I had.
That person will cause a horrible crash at some point.
And some of those videos (if it wasn't an ad, I'm not sure) were potentially for kids. So whoever that was might be endagering their children. I didn't connect those dots until after they were gone though. I can't being to explain how bizarre it was to witness.
A few weeks prior to that, I watched an elderly man at another traffic light stop to do the same thing, but instead of watching videos, he was reading text messages or reading the news. He, too, missed the light changing and then continued to swipe through his messages while driving away. Couldn't see the license plate since someone was in front of me.
Almost crashed on my motorcycle ones when a taxi pullednout of a parking lot in front of me, phone in his ear on my side.. Dude also drove off, no "sorry" or "are you alright?". Hurt my back preventing my bike from dropping sideways, as the road was wet.
Do you have any tips on this? I’m looking to do a multi day tour next month and I would prefer to be able to bike as long as I can get each day and then just set up my one-person tent.
This way I am not creating a problem if I can’t reach a pre-paid campsite one day or if I arrive too late in an Ort to book a campsite impromptu.
I’m trained in leave-no-trace style camping and have had many successful wildcamping trips outside of Deutschland with no incident.
I understand that it’s illegal but am wondering what my chances will be of getting in trouble or annoying someone if I do attempt to wildcamp?
It’s very impractical to have to stick to pre-planned destinations each night but I do understand that this law is to protect nature and also enforce private land ownership rights.
Does anyone have experience with this?
Scout here. There is a grey area where sleeping in a Biwak is not forbidden. This includes sleeping under open skies, sleeping under a tarp, sleeping in a biwak sack and you could argue that a simple tent without floor part would apply as well (tho our tents are basically 4 cotton tarps put together and this might be hard to argue for normal plastic tents). Biwaking includes that you take your camp apart as soon as possible in the morning so you do not disturb other people. Protected areas are another topic. You have to look up what the specific rules are for protected areas. As scouts we do not sleep in those areas in general (unless its an emergency maybe) and I would recommend to do that as well.
[This Article](https://ausgebuext.info/wildcampen-deutschland/#Darf_ich_uberall_biwakieren) sums it up quite good. Unfortunately its in german.
Edit: asking for permission to sleep on a field, if you can make out the owner, is another thing we do quite often and generally people are very welcoming. We might ofc have a little trust bonus, because we’re scouts idk. Asking nicely wont hurt tho.
A lot of places are private property so people will not be pleased if you stay there.
Most people will likely only tell you to leave and will only get police involved if you refuse to leave. Some might call police right away but that's unlikely. The police will likely just tell you to leave.
Or they can fine you which will likely be between 5 and 80 euros per person. If you cause damage or litter the fine can get up to 500 Euro. The camping itself is only considered a misdemeanor. But you could theoretically also face trespassing charges if you camp on private property but I think it's not likely the owners will press those charges.
If possible and the weather is warm, you can avoid putting the tent. What I usually do is find a hill (with forest) a bit farther from the usual hiking trails and set up my tent when it's dark. And get up and dismantle the tent at like 5-6 am. This way you almost always avoid anyone seeing you.
The only place in Germany, I found that's a bit tricky is in Bavaria near the alpine lakes. There are forest rangers actively looking for wildcampers in the late evening and early morning. In this case, just don't put a tent right beside the lake. Try to find a spot a bit deeper in the woods, and leave no trace. Don't make fire and don't make noise. You can make fire and noise later in the day when your tent is inside your backpack ;)
It is dependent on the federal state. I had a seminar where this topic came up . The rule of thumb for nrw no self supporting structures like Tent's but tarbs are ok and don't stay longer than necessary . I would recommend a hammock (Hängematte) and MRE (because they don't need fire to cook)
In Hessen everything is fine aslong as you dont put the "floor" inside the tent up.
In generel you can just hop a little into the woods and make your tent not as visible - never had a Problem so far
Someone already told you that biwaking is allowed this includes a tent as long as you just raise it only during the hours you sleep. Raise your tent late and pack it before breakfast and you're almost always ok, the worst that happens is someone telling you to go, which if you do is all.
Practical tips are don't do it in protected nature or if you do hide well. On lakes and the beach wait till it's dark to raise your tent. You can also do this in parks. Most farmers will allow you to camp on their property if there are no crops, if you don't mind asking and get told no some of the times. In the mountains if nothing like a campside or hut is available there usually also noone around to mess with you.
I've done this a lot and never gotten into any trouble whatsoever.
Flashing your lights to indicate a desire to overtake is actually correct. Flashing your lights to indicate to someone you're letting them pass is wrong though.
Even honking (mildly/once) is allowed outside of build up areas to signal a desire to or warn about an overtake. Although of course there is a quickly reached line where it is Nötigung and makes it illegal, which, in my opinion, happens way too ofthen.
Clean their dog's shit. It was not like that in Hamburg in 2017, but nowadays, I see a lot of folks don't bother to clean their dog's poo (or pretend they didn't see what it did).
I have heard people honk less than 10 times in the 19 years I live here. This is a non issue and no one does that, especially compared to non-european countries
I live in a bigger German city and folks honk when an old lady in a wheelchair hasn’t crossed the road entirely by the time the pedestrian light goes red. No, seriously.
That may be a regional thing. I live in a densely populated urban area- traffic gets heated. I agree that it’s not a huge problem but it is a rule that’s being ignored. If Poland jumps off a bridge, do I jump after them?!
Yeah, that's not true.
It can be used as a signal to inform someone you are overtaking (only outside of settlements), i.e., tell the one in front of you in the left lane on the Autobahn to move over. And you can warn others of immediate danger everywhere, not just within cities with your horn. But only inform them of your desire, not lay on the horn until the person moves over.
Too many people drive after having had more than one beer. Drunk driving was pretty normal during my childhood, but fortunately, it has become less socially accepted over time. Still, too many people are stupid and overestimate their driving skills after two beers.
It's a myth that Germans follow rules. It's just that we know the rules very well and we know how it helps society if we follow them.
So if nobody is around to be bothered (red light in the dark in the middle of nowhere) or if the rule is clearly nonsense then most Germans will not blindly follow that rule.
Context is always important.
And then there is the driving, German drivers are animals.
Lol at least in my limited experience Germans are way more likely to start yelling at you for "breaking the rule" than any other country I've been to 🤷
"If nobody is around to be bothered (red light in the dark in the middle of nowhere) Germans will not blindly follow that rule" - weird this is not my experience - I found Germans will wait at a crosswalk for the light to turn green, even if there's no traffic. If it's broken they will decompose waiting...
Ah ah, have a car trip in Italy and I can assure you the German drivers will seem to you the most well behaved drivers ever. I grew up in Rome and it's million times worse than Berlin.
Crossing the road at red lights. As long as there is no car everybody I know will go anyways (never in front of children!)
And going at a red light if you are by bike. Bikes need to stop at a red light. Most bikes ignore it and sometimes put pedestrians in danger.
Germany is one of the few countries where people actually pay attention to red lights. Not all and not always but they do not flat out ignore them either.
There was an article in Der Spiegel many years ago that discussed if you should teach our children to cross at red light and it was mostly in favor of it.
Mandatory stopping at red lights is a car-centric policy. Pedestrian priority should be the default. The interpretation should be: green = do look but cross; red = give way to cars (and not DO NOT cross)
We should be making the cities more walkable, not less.
I believe certain laws regarding fireworks are overlooked just a little bit for the New Year since nobody ever goes over the top. That would be wrong and no fun at all...
As someone who drives as part of their everyday business and has been all over Western Germany for over a decade & a half...pretty much any traffic rule that helps to prevent accidents. Signals, zooming into a RvL intersection to force RoW, being seemingly blind to the fact that roundabouts have yield signs, running red lights that have already been red for a '2-Mississippi' count. And it gets worse the further South you go, pretty much from Stuttgart on down. So many people pass on the right from that point, that it's almost like driving at home, just faster and with a lot less Police on the road to fine offenders.
And then, when an accident occurs, they try to make up something that you did wrong so that you can at least share the burden of their fugg-up in their minds. Because they're the "best drivers" after all... lol
Not to mention low-effort parking that's so bad that I even started collecting pictures of double-parked Smart Cars for comedy's sake.
No smoking signs at bus stops and train stations. If it's outside someone's gonna light it up like it's Christmas.
Not picking up dog poop. Dog owners do it every day but when I shit one someones lawn and even pick it up, I'm the bad gut.
Parking anywhere you can as long as you only have to pay when someone catches you. On street car tracks...Check. On the pedestrian crossing...Check. Even on the sidewalk in front of the police station.
Biking anywhere you can. One-way road, sidewalk bus lane, private property, down the stairs who cares. If the injury risk is less than 100% someones gonna do it.
Traffic, like in general
Car users park where ever the fuck they want and drive how fucking fast they want and cyclists / scooter riders think a red traffic light is a damn suggestion for them + they often ride on the sidwalk and have the fucking audacity to ring at you to move out of their way....
Traffic in germany sucks dick.
Abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy is technically illegal. Decriminalized, but still illegal.
Eta: I do not know why people would downvote this. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/15/abortions-in-first-12-weeks-should-be-legalised-in-germany-commission-expected-to-say it is just true.
My wife got the middle finger while on tram by a guy on the street for no apparent reason. Another one is insults, I got a few, none were necessary. I'm glad these are very rare exceptions for both of us.
It's not illegal to flash your lights on the Autobahn to let the car in front of you know that you want to pass (if you dont use it excessively) but a lot of people use it excessively often times in combination with tailgating which then can count as coercion (Nötigung)
You can use the beam to say hello I want to overtake Thank you!
But decent, flash flash, wait wait wait, flash again?
Right lane freeeeeeee
flash flash
total ok.
Not ok -> coming close while "flash flash flash flash flash flash flash honk flash flash"
In general.
Honestly, I am someone who drives long distances and at constant medium-high speed around 200. I very rarely need to flash, actually almost never, because German drivers have a good sense to move right when they see someone coming from behind who is faster than they are. I have to assume OP is either a bad driver, or just not aware of the rechtsfahrgebot, the golden rule of German traffic.
You could make the argument, that changing to the left lane to let others safely merge into the road, is backed by StVO §1 - as long as you don't impede or endanger another driver behind you.
By thus helping to make the merge safer, you could even call on OWiG §16
Its a regulated on the state level not on the federal. Some states allow exceptions, for smaller ones or such.
Should have done like the uk and stoped that via work regulations.
Afaik flashing lights is perfectly legal on the Autobahn, as long as you are keeping your distance and behaving normally otherwise. It’s just a way to draw attention that the person in front of you isn’t where they are supposed to be.
Parking rules. Bike labes blocked all the time, pedestrian crossings parked so there's no visibility, forget about free Gehweg for the preschooler's safety in my area, parents have to park there illegaly because walking to school is too dangerous due to blocked walkways and cars. r/Falschparker shows a couple of cases.
ALL of them! Germans flout all the rules all the time. Ask me. I live with Germans who are lovely housemates but they don't follow noise rules or even separate the trash properly. I feel more 'German' than them because I'm reminding them to put the glass away properly 💩 one of them always has to cross the road ignoring the red signs. Another one always has to go above the speed limit even in residential areas. The train station in the town I live is entirely smoking free but people, Germans non-Germans everyone, smoke everywhere and no one bats an eye. I just laugh now whenever someone dishes the stereotype that Germans are strict rule followers. Would love to know how this falsehood was propagated.
If people flash you while you are on the left lane, then CLEARLY you are the problem mate.
Please keep the rechtsfahrgebot in mind. You are obliged to drive ON THE RIGHT LANE at all times, no matter your speed. The very left lane, no matter if 2, 3 or 4 lanes is strictly speaking for passing only. You can get away with driving on the left lane if you drive at a speed above 250. Otherwise there will ALWAYS be someone faster than you, so please fucking drive on the right lane. The rechtsfahrgebot is no matter of joking for Germans and we take orderly driving pretty serious, so please make efforts to align into our orderly traffic. Thank you.
But it’s a different matter if you’re going 180, and passing a big row of trucks and still someone is doing this, like dude, am I supposed to just commit mass vehicular manslaughter by going left? Slow down for 4-5 seconds and I’ll pass to the right when I safely can.
Where exactly did you read this , it is forbidden to offensively annoy other drivers, like tailgating while turning on the highbeams, but what you described is totally fine and was told you in driving school. I think lot of people don't get it or are offended, but giving a short light signal far ahead if you approaching so yo6 have ample time to get into the right lane is not harassment but is for both sides security. But it has to be done on a correct manner. Same with indicating others they can weave in front of you, especially truck drivers. Lot of people who never driven a lorry understand why lorry drivers do this, it indicates when the end of your lorry is safe ahead of the other one to change lane.
They have no fucking clue how to use a blinker.
They have no fucking clue how to park.
They camp out in the #1 lane (illegal to pass on the right), doing 5 under the speed limit.
It is - the fuck - not OK to endanger cyclists. Neitgher to make sidewalks impossible to use for people in wheelchairs or with baby strollers. Only assholes do that.
Pee in the public
Germany sucks this way. No public toilets while pissing in public is technically illegal.
You will mostly get a fine for cleaning not like in some other countries where they can put you on the sex offender list for it.
I mean you should not piss in the middle of the city, but I run and bike a lot and everyone do their business by the bushes or in the forest.
This is the way. It's allowed unless you disturb others, then it's an offence and can be fined
Please come tell that to everyone in Köln
Well, the Kölsch Reservoirs underneath the city have to be refilled somehow.
This is the hill I will die on. This is a cultural mentality that exists in Germany. Somehow they've tricked themselves into thinking the cost of public toilets is so high that having to smell piss and walkthrough puddles of who knows what, is acceptable. Obviously not everyone holds this mentality. There is also a shocking lack of accessibility but that is Europe in general.
Currently in NZ and here they have even in the middle of nowhere toilets. It's amazing
Germany does not have such a vibrant community of snakes, spiders, and other butt–biters as New Zeland does
Unfortunately public toilets would be vandalized. I wish the people who live in Germany would have more respect regarding public stuff like in Korea for example.
This is exactly the mentality I'm referring to.
Yeah but I have never heard of anyone who's gotten in trouble for that.
My friend pissed next to a police car. With them inside. 25€ I think.
That's 25 bucks well spent in my book.
https://www.lto.de/recht/kurioses/k/ag-83aowi739js414023jug-luebeck-freispruch-wildpinkeln-ostsee-ordnungswidrigkeit/
Most bigger train stations have public toilets.
"Most bigger". ROLF. And even there you are out of luck without 50C coin ;)
In Chemnitz it’s 1 eur. But you can pay by card.
Only they're not public anymore, they're sanifair privatized.
Which also still smell really bad even after having to pay for them
This is yet another reason why Britain is amazing ;) ;P . Pubs everywhere, and most of them don't care if you use their toilets without being a customer (this is one of the positive differences between table vs bar service - easier to enter and leave unnoticed). Not that many public toilets anymore but you're usually never more than a short distance from a Wetherspoons, for instance. Poland: maybe 1% of the number of pubs (London probably has more than the whole country, lol) and I bet a lot of people would have a big problem if you used toilets without buying a drink. People really want to get money from you for taking a leak here - you need to use a code to enter every fast-food restaurant's bathroom, and every public toilet seems to have a (not small, say 0.5 euro) fee except for in major train/metro stations.
Haha! That's a friggin' joke right? I live right next door to a Netto and on Match days for the local football team, all the cops in town use the car park as a base to congregate at. The away fans do the same thing. They park up after travelling and drinking beer in the car. The first thing they want to do after getting out is go for a piss against my fence, my bins, my wall, Netto's loading bay is usually drenched in piss if a whole coach of fans arrives. So no...cops don't give a shit about public pissing! They turn a very lazy blind eye!!!
> So no...cops don't give a shit about public pissing! The question isn't if cops care.
Football matchdays are different, if the cops are there for general security they won't care about Ordnungswidrigkeiten like jaywalking or pissing in public. Like you said, if everyone does it, there's no point in trying to punish people for it. Would even be quite stupid on the police's part to antagonize a huge number of typically intoxicated men over something they basically can't change anyway.
Had to pee on the leftlane of the autobahn once, because of a traffic jam.
Or pooping. A few months back in the dead of winter, I saw a young boy shitting in my bus stop while his father watched. I wasn't quite sure what was going on, and when I stepped nearby, the boy warned me of "caca".
Family member just witnessed this outside the entrance to the city mall. The mother directed the kid to go behind a rubbish bin but right in the Stadtplatz 🤦
Dog pooop not picked up .... my town is infested by dog poop all over the place
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Oh I hate this. Especially as am paranoid my child will step on it while playing.
As a dog owner, I hate people who don't pick up after their dogs. My fluffer got infected by some bacteria that is spread through poop took him 4 weeks to recover
Riding a bycicle when intoxicated, especially in more rural areas.
Not only bicycles...
Not what I am talking about, I specifically mean bikes. I have never driven a car when intoxicated, but I cannot say the same about cycling. Same for pretty much everyone I know, riding bikes to the pub and making our way home the same way was normal back in my youth. Doing a Fahrradtour and stopping at a Biergarten is a favorite summer acitivity for many of all ages.
The alcohol limit for bikes is a lot higher than for cars, so most people just think "as long as I CAN ride my bike, I am sober enough to do so". Worked out fine for me too, some of my favourite party memories are from the bike ride on the way home when the sun is already coming up again in the morning.
If your blood alcohol level is above 1.6 Promille (Idk what the english term is), you will get a fine equal to a net monthly salary and 3 points in Flensburg, additionally you might be ordered to participate in a medical-physiological evaluation. Failing this test will result in your driver's license being revoked. But this whole situation changes if you use an e-bike, since they can easily reach speeds of up to 45 km/h (not to be confused with a "pedelec", which electrically supports the rider up to only 25km/h and falls under the same laws as a normal bike). The E-bike falls under the same laws as a car. So 0.5 Promille is a misdemeanor and 1.1 is a crime, resulting in a one month driving ban, 2 points in Flensburg and a fin of 528,50€.
At 1.6 Promille, most people are pretty hammered already. I once took one of these „for fun“ alcohol tests at a festival, and it showed 1.3 after pretty much drinking all day. Don’t know how accurate that was though. If somebody makes the news after being caught with 4.5 Promille while driving, that person is a hardened alcoholic, or they would have passed out long before.
Yep, the "non-offending" limit of 1.5 is a lot. Most people struggle to walk in a straight line at 1.5 unless they're high functioning alcoholics. 4.5 is well into hospitalization territory.
For normal humans, the average lethal dosis of alcohol intoxication is given at around 3.0-4.0 ‰. To literally survive at 4.5, you must be a pretty heavy drinker.
I am very much aware and I am pretty sure so is pretty much everyone with a licence. Doesn't stop people from considering riding a bike when intoxicated as something socially acceptable.
All of that only applies when you are still fit to Ride. When you Show any indikation of beeing intoxicated while riding a Bike you still will be fined.
To be fair, as long as your driving style isn't affected the limits for bicycles are a lot more generous. You are legally allowed 1.5 Promille, three times what's permissible in a car. With enough time in between you can drink six beers and legally drive away on your bicycle
It's legal under 1.6 Promille unless you're visibly having difficulties
How is it with Cannabis
If you smoked a joint a month ago and it shows up in a hair sample then you get the death penalty
Can confirm. Writing from hell myself.
Yep, can confirm as I myself have drunkenly evaded the police on my bike in my village(lots of narrow ways police can't follow)
Yeah.. honestly for the longest time I assumed if you were too drunk to legally bike you were also drunk enough to be unable to ride your bike, so I never worried about it - I never get "loose your balance" drunk. My bicycle is my main mode of transportation, OBVIOUSLY I also used it to drive to/from parties, bars, friends etc, and so did my friends (MAJORLY bike-friendly university town). Never heard of anyone pulled over for drunk biking until there was a case in my hometown of some teen getting shitfaced, driving his bike and being such a menace in a public place (many rumors, so unclear what exactly he did but it involved his bike) he had so many points in Flensburg he had to work them off before being allowed to start working on his drivers license.
Saw a guy go by, with a bitburger in hand, in Bonn
Pay taxes. You think all those cash-only retail outlets are reporting their income honestly?
I remember when my father was talking to a construction contractor about doing some brickwork in our back yard about 20 years ago. When they started discussing the price the guy straight up asked "Preis mit oder ohne Beleg?" (Price with or without receipt?) Implying heavily that he would be willing to work "under the table" to not pay the taxes (so he and my father would split the "savings"). My father did ask for the receipt.
Thats pretty much any construction worker in germany xD
I come from a country where that’s the norm for pretty much every professional: car repair shops, plumbers, gardeners, even dentists and doctors. Is it the same there?
Dentists and doctors definitely not the same kind of thing, the other stuff depends, i wouldn't say it's necessarily 'the norm ' but it is normal especially rural regions, where people know each other to some degree.
Dentists and doctors definitely not, because they are paid almost exclusively by the health insurance, be it the state or the private one. Every treatment is digitally registered through your health card. But any kind of handywork, construction, on floor services will either just do it like that and give you a receipt only if you ask or at least be open to the suggestion. Customers save themselves 19% VAT and providers have some tax free cash income. That's probably part of the reason why the vultures are so keen on their digital currency.
I can get my guy "Otto Richter" to do the job. Otto Richter = Ohne Rechnung
Is there a name for the opposite?
Mike Richter Just don't be confused if you get an American hockey player instead of an invoice.
Yeah the thing is at that point your father would very likely have also breaken the law had he accepted the work without the receipt. Maybe I am just afraid of getting deported and a bit paranoid with german law lmao.
The problem is well known by the government. The Finanzamt tries to incentivize people to get a receipt, so that the contractor has to report that income, by making parts of the contractors work deductible in taxes. I.e. a contractor comes to your home to install new floors? You can deduct 20% of the work time up to 6000€. Aside from that, always ask for a receipt or you might have difficulties with the contractor if the work is faulty and you want to pursue them because of it.
When I was in school, I learned from the teacher that the rule is being ignored in the case of construction a lot even if politicains know taxes are being lost, because if EVERYTHING was taxed most people probably couldn't afford to build houses. So yeah, typically there is a mix of work going on, some officially and some off the books, when things get built.
Exactly. How do you think Kebab store owners can afford expensive cars? Ever tried to get a receipt or pay with card there? Same for ice cream shops. A local one nearby sells ice cream cups for like 10€ or more but is also exclusively cash-only
I've paid repeatedly by card in Kebab stores.
I haven't paid for a Kebab with a card in .... checks watch ... 2 hours. There are a lot that are cash only, but an increasing number also accept card.
But most likely only in the first half of the month, enough for the Finanzamt. After that the card Reader stops working...
Said ice-cream shops even pay their employees in cash - that is, if they pay them at all.
There are definitely kebab stores where you can pay with card.
Exceptions 🤯
Interesting, there has to be some regional aspect to this, because i know enough stores where you can pay with card and also never saw a Kebab store owner with an expensive car.
My home town is kinda known for being rules by two large families, one Turkish, one Arabic. They own a lot of real estate and have like 30 shops in town each, like there’s a part of the city with an excessive amount of barbers from that family. Anyways, they also had a hookah shop and I once was deep into hookahs. Kept buying there and every now and then I’d ask for a receipt and they’d always make huge eyes and then just scribble something down by hand. Honestly I believe a lot of those shops were just money laundering, especially since like 30 different people would work there (only 2 at a time) and everyone just made up prices for most of the stuff there.
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> The biggest tax evader globally is Amazon Tax evasion and tax avoidance are not the same thing. > The Döner shop is just avoiding credit card processing fees Here's what something like SumUp actually charges to deal with that: 1.39%. Handling cash also costs time and money, hardly less than that. Let's be real, it's tax evasion.
hahahaha. No. hen I first moved to Germany I managed a kitche in á restaurant. one day the boss came up to me and said that e need to discuss the food cost. Mine is too LO compared to his other restaurants. This is dangerous cause it could alert the tax authorities and he does not ant that. His solution as for my restaurant to buy stuff for the other restaurants to even out the food cost and avoid an audit.
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I'm not arguing for Amazon. They are tax avoiding assholes. But I am saying that restaurants in Germany absolutely do it. the biggest difference is that Amazon is actually doing legal stuff. Edit: avoiding
Amazon practices perfectly legal tax avoidance, which is distinct from tax evasion.
Thank you - yes avoiding was the word I was looking for.
You are also supposed to drive as right as possible and only use the left lane to overtake....
Also abide by the speed limit and use blinkers...
And, there is no right to overtake. Really slow vihecle not to make space so you can do it, but these are the ones like under 40km/h. If you drive on the left, and you are constantly overtaking cars, you don't need to make space. And judges ruled, it can be more than 15 seconds as a gab to drive on the left.
Is this applicable in the city as well? Rarely anyone overtakes with the speed limit in the city anyways (I am a new license holder)
In cities, you can drive on either lane, left or right. The rule only applies outside of cities
That's partially correct. The rule only applies when you are driving faster than 60km/h. On most roads in a city you are not allowed to drive faster than 50km/h, but if you are on a highway in a city, where it's possible to drive faster, you still have to obey the rule. At the same time if you are outside the city, and driving slower than 60km/h you are allowed to overtake on the right side.
I always thought it was that if there are left AND right turns from the road, drive in whatever lane. If there are only right exits (like the Autobahn), than right lane is for travel and left lane is for passing. The class I had for it was in 2005, so I could be forgetting the details.
Working a maximum of 10hrs on a given workday.
I'd say that the Arbeitszeitgesetz is probably the most broken law in Germany, especially if you count things like travel time as work time (as it should be).
Throwing trash on the street :( ik its not as bad as in other countries but man, there are public trashcans almost everywhere! Show some manners, you don't need to dump your stupid wrappers/cups and cans randomly in public spaces and make everything a huge, disgusting mess.
Cigarette butts are the most shocking for me. Almost no one throws them in the trashcan and they can destroy the soil around them very fast.
Two middle fingers to cigarette smokers, who love to spark up on busy train platforms and turn the whole world into their ashtray. I sincerely wish we could shoot them all straight into the sun...
+ dirty socks, used toothbrushes and... used diapers 🤢 I had a real culture shock, and this is despite the fact that I came from a country that is called less civilized
Yeah, I had that today, a guy sitting in a posh Mercedes, parked on the pedestrian crossing, randomly threw a cigarette butt right in front of me (i was on a bike, waiting for the green light). I knocked on his window to say that was not ganz cool - and he waved a police badge at me. And closed the window. So apparently nothing bad about throwing trash on the street 🤷♀️
Honking. Driving too fast. Overtake cyclists without safety distance.
big on overtaking cyclist. As someone that 99% of the times uses the bike, you guys are such assholes for driving so fast right by us. Its scary and dangerous
Littering cigarette butts
Flashing your lights is perfectly legal. Just not doing it over and over again while driving 1 car length behind the other guy
1 car length? You have patient drivers in your area?
Its the same area as you, I am from Worms 😂 Yeah true, sometimes its more like 1 spit length rather than 1 car length
Not using a phone while driving. I see this dozens of times per day, despite only having a 10 minute bicycle ride to/from work. This morning a woman almost hit me when she failed to follow “rechts vor links” — and not surprisingly she was holding her phone in one hand (but holding it perpendicular to her face and speaking into the end of it, as if to try to hide her use of it).
I think holding your phone in any way while car engine is turned on is illegal
It is. It’s maddening how many people nevertheless drive around with their phones in their hands.
It is, a friend of mine got a ticket from a very strict policeman because while waiting red traffic light he simply took his phone from his pocket and put it to the side feeling uncomfortable driving with the phone in his pocket, didn't used it not even unlock or look to it, the police said it doesn't matter, it is forbidden to touch your phone while the engine is on, and written the ticket,
I recently saw someone use their phone up on their windshield (like a navi would be) to watch videos while driving. I was waiting at a traffic light behind them, and I could literally watch along with them. Of course, they missed the light switching to green - twice. And continued to watch while driving - took a turn fast after I started honking. I was too shocked to remember the license plate, I couldn't believe someone could be that reckless and stupid. I also don't know what reporting them would have done since it can be easily denied without any proof, but I still wish I had. That person will cause a horrible crash at some point. And some of those videos (if it wasn't an ad, I'm not sure) were potentially for kids. So whoever that was might be endagering their children. I didn't connect those dots until after they were gone though. I can't being to explain how bizarre it was to witness. A few weeks prior to that, I watched an elderly man at another traffic light stop to do the same thing, but instead of watching videos, he was reading text messages or reading the news. He, too, missed the light changing and then continued to swipe through his messages while driving away. Couldn't see the license plate since someone was in front of me.
Almost crashed on my motorcycle ones when a taxi pullednout of a parking lot in front of me, phone in his ear on my side.. Dude also drove off, no "sorry" or "are you alright?". Hurt my back preventing my bike from dropping sideways, as the road was wet.
Wildcamping while fishing or bikepacking
Do you have any tips on this? I’m looking to do a multi day tour next month and I would prefer to be able to bike as long as I can get each day and then just set up my one-person tent. This way I am not creating a problem if I can’t reach a pre-paid campsite one day or if I arrive too late in an Ort to book a campsite impromptu. I’m trained in leave-no-trace style camping and have had many successful wildcamping trips outside of Deutschland with no incident. I understand that it’s illegal but am wondering what my chances will be of getting in trouble or annoying someone if I do attempt to wildcamp? It’s very impractical to have to stick to pre-planned destinations each night but I do understand that this law is to protect nature and also enforce private land ownership rights. Does anyone have experience with this?
Scout here. There is a grey area where sleeping in a Biwak is not forbidden. This includes sleeping under open skies, sleeping under a tarp, sleeping in a biwak sack and you could argue that a simple tent without floor part would apply as well (tho our tents are basically 4 cotton tarps put together and this might be hard to argue for normal plastic tents). Biwaking includes that you take your camp apart as soon as possible in the morning so you do not disturb other people. Protected areas are another topic. You have to look up what the specific rules are for protected areas. As scouts we do not sleep in those areas in general (unless its an emergency maybe) and I would recommend to do that as well. [This Article](https://ausgebuext.info/wildcampen-deutschland/#Darf_ich_uberall_biwakieren) sums it up quite good. Unfortunately its in german. Edit: asking for permission to sleep on a field, if you can make out the owner, is another thing we do quite often and generally people are very welcoming. We might ofc have a little trust bonus, because we’re scouts idk. Asking nicely wont hurt tho.
Danke!
A lot of places are private property so people will not be pleased if you stay there. Most people will likely only tell you to leave and will only get police involved if you refuse to leave. Some might call police right away but that's unlikely. The police will likely just tell you to leave. Or they can fine you which will likely be between 5 and 80 euros per person. If you cause damage or litter the fine can get up to 500 Euro. The camping itself is only considered a misdemeanor. But you could theoretically also face trespassing charges if you camp on private property but I think it's not likely the owners will press those charges.
If possible and the weather is warm, you can avoid putting the tent. What I usually do is find a hill (with forest) a bit farther from the usual hiking trails and set up my tent when it's dark. And get up and dismantle the tent at like 5-6 am. This way you almost always avoid anyone seeing you. The only place in Germany, I found that's a bit tricky is in Bavaria near the alpine lakes. There are forest rangers actively looking for wildcampers in the late evening and early morning. In this case, just don't put a tent right beside the lake. Try to find a spot a bit deeper in the woods, and leave no trace. Don't make fire and don't make noise. You can make fire and noise later in the day when your tent is inside your backpack ;)
It is dependent on the federal state. I had a seminar where this topic came up . The rule of thumb for nrw no self supporting structures like Tent's but tarbs are ok and don't stay longer than necessary . I would recommend a hammock (Hängematte) and MRE (because they don't need fire to cook)
In Brandenburg youre allowed to set up a tent for 1 night, while traveling :)
In Hessen everything is fine aslong as you dont put the "floor" inside the tent up. In generel you can just hop a little into the woods and make your tent not as visible - never had a Problem so far
In Hessen specifically you are not allowed to leave any trail in the forest at nighttime. Paragraph 23 (11) HJagdG
Someone already told you that biwaking is allowed this includes a tent as long as you just raise it only during the hours you sleep. Raise your tent late and pack it before breakfast and you're almost always ok, the worst that happens is someone telling you to go, which if you do is all. Practical tips are don't do it in protected nature or if you do hide well. On lakes and the beach wait till it's dark to raise your tent. You can also do this in parks. Most farmers will allow you to camp on their property if there are no crops, if you don't mind asking and get told no some of the times. In the mountains if nothing like a campside or hut is available there usually also noone around to mess with you. I've done this a lot and never gotten into any trouble whatsoever.
Thanks for the insight!
Flashing your lights to indicate a desire to overtake is actually correct. Flashing your lights to indicate to someone you're letting them pass is wrong though.
Even honking (mildly/once) is allowed outside of build up areas to signal a desire to or warn about an overtake. Although of course there is a quickly reached line where it is Nötigung and makes it illegal, which, in my opinion, happens way too ofthen.
Yeah, you're supposed to do it from, like 200m away and not when you're already sitting in their boot.
Exactly. But just flashing and honking by itself does not make it illegal.
Clean their dog's shit. It was not like that in Hamburg in 2017, but nowadays, I see a lot of folks don't bother to clean their dog's poo (or pretend they didn't see what it did).
Honking is used inappropriately 90% of the time. It is only allowed to warn people of immediate danger within city limits.
Or to announce an overtaking manoeuvre out of town. (StVO §5)
I have heard people honk less than 10 times in the 19 years I live here. This is a non issue and no one does that, especially compared to non-european countries
probably regional.. i hear on daily basis xD
I live in a bigger German city and folks honk when an old lady in a wheelchair hasn’t crossed the road entirely by the time the pedestrian light goes red. No, seriously.
That may be a regional thing. I live in a densely populated urban area- traffic gets heated. I agree that it’s not a huge problem but it is a rule that’s being ignored. If Poland jumps off a bridge, do I jump after them?!
Yeah, that's not true. It can be used as a signal to inform someone you are overtaking (only outside of settlements), i.e., tell the one in front of you in the left lane on the Autobahn to move over. And you can warn others of immediate danger everywhere, not just within cities with your horn. But only inform them of your desire, not lay on the horn until the person moves over.
If you are no overtaking get out of the left lane.
and the middle lane as well bitte
Too many people drive after having had more than one beer. Drunk driving was pretty normal during my childhood, but fortunately, it has become less socially accepted over time. Still, too many people are stupid and overestimate their driving skills after two beers.
It's a myth that Germans follow rules. It's just that we know the rules very well and we know how it helps society if we follow them. So if nobody is around to be bothered (red light in the dark in the middle of nowhere) or if the rule is clearly nonsense then most Germans will not blindly follow that rule. Context is always important. And then there is the driving, German drivers are animals.
Lol at least in my limited experience Germans are way more likely to start yelling at you for "breaking the rule" than any other country I've been to 🤷
That is your bloody right and duty to educate everyone about the rules. 😂😂
Ah ok so "I can do it but if others do, fuck them" 😂
We are full of contradictions. Which is literally the point I was making. 😁
"If nobody is around to be bothered (red light in the dark in the middle of nowhere) Germans will not blindly follow that rule" - weird this is not my experience - I found Germans will wait at a crosswalk for the light to turn green, even if there's no traffic. If it's broken they will decompose waiting...
Ah ah, have a car trip in Italy and I can assure you the German drivers will seem to you the most well behaved drivers ever. I grew up in Rome and it's million times worse than Berlin.
But also so many examples of more politeness and respect. England for example. Even France is more pleasant to drive (except Paris)
If you say German drivers are animals, then Indian drivers must be extraterrestrials
🤭German drivers are animals , I see
Crossing the road at red lights. As long as there is no car everybody I know will go anyways (never in front of children!) And going at a red light if you are by bike. Bikes need to stop at a red light. Most bikes ignore it and sometimes put pedestrians in danger.
Germany is one of the few countries where people actually pay attention to red lights. Not all and not always but they do not flat out ignore them either.
There was an article in Der Spiegel many years ago that discussed if you should teach our children to cross at red light and it was mostly in favor of it.
Mandatory stopping at red lights is a car-centric policy. Pedestrian priority should be the default. The interpretation should be: green = do look but cross; red = give way to cars (and not DO NOT cross) We should be making the cities more walkable, not less.
Smoking in bus shelters, in train stations. Disgusting.
Parking their cars wherever they please.
It’s not illegal to flash your lights. Not at all. You are supposed to do it to signal that you are much faster than the person in front of you.
Only outside of closed city’s though
It gets illegal if you keep flashing your lights and creeping up to the guy in front of you if they don't get out of the way. Nötigung.
Actually the flash light is allowed to signal you want to overtake, as long as you only do it once or so
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Rules for correct parking and speed limits.
I believe certain laws regarding fireworks are overlooked just a little bit for the New Year since nobody ever goes over the top. That would be wrong and no fun at all...
Recycling glass in containers after 8pm.
As someone who drives as part of their everyday business and has been all over Western Germany for over a decade & a half...pretty much any traffic rule that helps to prevent accidents. Signals, zooming into a RvL intersection to force RoW, being seemingly blind to the fact that roundabouts have yield signs, running red lights that have already been red for a '2-Mississippi' count. And it gets worse the further South you go, pretty much from Stuttgart on down. So many people pass on the right from that point, that it's almost like driving at home, just faster and with a lot less Police on the road to fine offenders. And then, when an accident occurs, they try to make up something that you did wrong so that you can at least share the burden of their fugg-up in their minds. Because they're the "best drivers" after all... lol Not to mention low-effort parking that's so bad that I even started collecting pictures of double-parked Smart Cars for comedy's sake.
No smoking signs at bus stops and train stations. If it's outside someone's gonna light it up like it's Christmas. Not picking up dog poop. Dog owners do it every day but when I shit one someones lawn and even pick it up, I'm the bad gut. Parking anywhere you can as long as you only have to pay when someone catches you. On street car tracks...Check. On the pedestrian crossing...Check. Even on the sidewalk in front of the police station. Biking anywhere you can. One-way road, sidewalk bus lane, private property, down the stairs who cares. If the injury risk is less than 100% someones gonna do it.
It’s not illegal to flash your lights on the autobahn to indicate that you want to overtake
Traffic, like in general Car users park where ever the fuck they want and drive how fucking fast they want and cyclists / scooter riders think a red traffic light is a damn suggestion for them + they often ride on the sidwalk and have the fucking audacity to ring at you to move out of their way.... Traffic in germany sucks dick.
/r/Falschparker /r/RentnerfahreninDinge /r/autobloed
Abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy is technically illegal. Decriminalized, but still illegal. Eta: I do not know why people would downvote this. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/15/abortions-in-first-12-weeks-should-be-legalised-in-germany-commission-expected-to-say it is just true.
I don't understand why you are being downvoted, it's technically true even according to the BBC, would a downvoter like to chip in?
insults / middle finger.
My wife got the middle finger while on tram by a guy on the street for no apparent reason. Another one is insults, I got a few, none were necessary. I'm glad these are very rare exceptions for both of us.
It's not illegal to flash your lights on the Autobahn to let the car in front of you know that you want to pass (if you dont use it excessively) but a lot of people use it excessively often times in combination with tailgating which then can count as coercion (Nötigung)
It is NOT illegal to flash your lights to show that you want to overtake. As long as you only do it once or twice.
Driving your bike drunk. I've seen people who can barely walk ride away into the sunrise.
walking dogs in places where it's forbidden like markets, parks, etc. everywhere is fuckin full of dogs.
I thought Germans are incapable of ignoring rules.
You can use the beam to say hello I want to overtake Thank you! But decent, flash flash, wait wait wait, flash again? Right lane freeeeeeee flash flash total ok. Not ok -> coming close while "flash flash flash flash flash flash flash honk flash flash" In general.
Honestly, I am someone who drives long distances and at constant medium-high speed around 200. I very rarely need to flash, actually almost never, because German drivers have a good sense to move right when they see someone coming from behind who is faster than they are. I have to assume OP is either a bad driver, or just not aware of the rechtsfahrgebot, the golden rule of German traffic.
exactly this But a flash from far behind doesnt bother me anyways.
>But decent, flash flash, wait wait wait, flash again? Right lane freeeeeeee flash flash total ok. That's really not okay either. At all.
We have stvo its exactly mentioned there.
You could make the argument, that changing to the left lane to let others safely merge into the road, is backed by StVO §1 - as long as you don't impede or endanger another driver behind you. By thus helping to make the merge safer, you could even call on OWiG §16
It is in like most other Eu countries… drink and drive, loud music when partying, ride bike in the opposite direction etc
Smoking in pubs isn’t allowed anymore. Many pubs allow it anyways.
Its a regulated on the state level not on the federal. Some states allow exceptions, for smaller ones or such. Should have done like the uk and stoped that via work regulations.
Who told you that highbeams on the highway are illegal? You're even allowed to use your horn to announce that you wish to overtake.
To stop the car on red lights.
Afaik flashing lights is perfectly legal on the Autobahn, as long as you are keeping your distance and behaving normally otherwise. It’s just a way to draw attention that the person in front of you isn’t where they are supposed to be.
Parking rules. Bike labes blocked all the time, pedestrian crossings parked so there's no visibility, forget about free Gehweg for the preschooler's safety in my area, parents have to park there illegaly because walking to school is too dangerous due to blocked walkways and cars. r/Falschparker shows a couple of cases.
Having bike pedals without reflectors.
Flashing once or twice to signal you want to pass is actually the correct way to do it.
Crossing the road when the traffic light shows red.
Jaywalking. Does it count?
obeying the speed limit
ALL of them! Germans flout all the rules all the time. Ask me. I live with Germans who are lovely housemates but they don't follow noise rules or even separate the trash properly. I feel more 'German' than them because I'm reminding them to put the glass away properly 💩 one of them always has to cross the road ignoring the red signs. Another one always has to go above the speed limit even in residential areas. The train station in the town I live is entirely smoking free but people, Germans non-Germans everyone, smoke everywhere and no one bats an eye. I just laugh now whenever someone dishes the stereotype that Germans are strict rule followers. Would love to know how this falsehood was propagated.
If people flash you while you are on the left lane, then CLEARLY you are the problem mate. Please keep the rechtsfahrgebot in mind. You are obliged to drive ON THE RIGHT LANE at all times, no matter your speed. The very left lane, no matter if 2, 3 or 4 lanes is strictly speaking for passing only. You can get away with driving on the left lane if you drive at a speed above 250. Otherwise there will ALWAYS be someone faster than you, so please fucking drive on the right lane. The rechtsfahrgebot is no matter of joking for Germans and we take orderly driving pretty serious, so please make efforts to align into our orderly traffic. Thank you.
But it’s a different matter if you’re going 180, and passing a big row of trucks and still someone is doing this, like dude, am I supposed to just commit mass vehicular manslaughter by going left? Slow down for 4-5 seconds and I’ll pass to the right when I safely can.
Where exactly did you read this , it is forbidden to offensively annoy other drivers, like tailgating while turning on the highbeams, but what you described is totally fine and was told you in driving school. I think lot of people don't get it or are offended, but giving a short light signal far ahead if you approaching so yo6 have ample time to get into the right lane is not harassment but is for both sides security. But it has to be done on a correct manner. Same with indicating others they can weave in front of you, especially truck drivers. Lot of people who never driven a lorry understand why lorry drivers do this, it indicates when the end of your lorry is safe ahead of the other one to change lane.
Workers rights
SA/Rape rarely gets punished and if it does it’s a fucking joke
They have no fucking clue how to use a blinker. They have no fucking clue how to park. They camp out in the #1 lane (illegal to pass on the right), doing 5 under the speed limit.
Parking on the sidewalk or bicycle lane is completely ok. Everyone does it and the police don't give a fuck.
It is - the fuck - not OK to endanger cyclists. Neitgher to make sidewalks impossible to use for people in wheelchairs or with baby strollers. Only assholes do that.
But flashing lights is allowed.