The city of Düsseldorf is not allowed to forbid so-called autoposers to show themselves off, nor to impose fines on them. That was the decision of the Düsseldorf administrative court on Thursday and thus the lawsuit of a 22-year-old driver was granted (Az.: 6 K 4721/21).
The city had accused the plaintiff of driving off at a traffic light in March 2021 with a 500 hp car with a loud engine roaring in order to attract the attention of passers-by.
She banned him from autoposing anywhere in the city for a period of three years. If he did it again, she threatened him with a fine of 5,000 euros. If people are endangered, it can even be 10,000 euros.
The administrative court has now reversed this. The court emphasized that the city could not issue its own traffic rules for its area. Road traffic in Germany is regulated by federal law. According to this, car posing as a violation of the road traffic regulations can only be punished with a fine of 80 to 100 euros.
“I was never fined for the incident,” said plaintiff Onur Moumin, causing astonishment and questions from the judges’ bench. “Fines make no impression on the scene,” said the city representative. “They didn’t try to find out whether that was the case with the plaintiff,” the judge remarked.
The local regulatory authority cannot apply stricter standards and cannot issue its own traffic bans, the court explained in the verdict. The judges allowed an appeal against their verdict.
The city announced that it would examine the written reasons for the verdict very carefully. Their approach had been successful and had noticeably reduced the number of autoposers in Düsseldorf within a short period of time. The city will therefore exhaust its possibilities in the interest of the citizens and safety in the city.