Text 9800, 46 rader
Skriven 2008-01-13 08:36:16 av Robert Bashe (2:2448/44)
   Kommentar till text 9777 av Michiel van der Vlist (2:280/5555)
Ärende: Big Brother is Watching YOU!
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Michiel van der Vlist wrote to Björn Forsström on Saturday January 12 2008 at
20:18:

BF>> and on the rear plate there is a sticker with a check number when the
BF>> car is supposed to be at the annual inspection.

Every two years in Germany.

MV> We had those stickers too, but stickers can be forged and they were
MV> aboandonned in favour of a central database a decade ago.

Hey, you guys should see the German plates. There are no less than _three_
stickers on them, two rear (one for the county = Kreis where the car is
registered, showing it _is_ registered, one for the date of the next technical
inspection) and one front (registration county).

MV> Tampering with the database is a lot harder than forging a sticker.

Maybe, but we've never had any (publically reported) problems with forgery
here. What occasionally does happen is that someone gets bribed to put stickers
on uninspected cars, or that stickers are stolen.

MvdV>>> So there is no need for a cop to check for insurance. The computer
MvdV>>> at the central data base will beep whether the car is on the road
MvdV>>> or not.

In Germany, you can't register a car without proof of (mandatory liability>)
insurance, so there is no need to check either.

MV> The motor vehicle authority sends a warning two month before the
MV> inspoection expires.

No warning here, since the inspection date is stamped into the car pepers and
can be seen on the rear plate sticker. If you continue driving after the month
the inspection was due you drive illegally, and will be fined and the car
deregistered. The same happens if the police find the car parked on a public
street.

MV> I do not know what happenes if you fail to insure.

That's impossible here, since you can't register the car otherwise.

Cheers, Bob

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