passsar

  As Fraufruit said, the tolls going south around Germany is hundreds of euros... Vignettes etc...   Plus to be able to visit Germany by vehicle. I have a campervan so it is the most pertinent way for me to visit...    Also Denmark and around the Baltic sea :)

  That is great ! Makes me feel a lot safer about telling the Greeks. I would have been surprised if they fined me.   I will keep this thread updated until the very end so I will let everyone now what they needed / asked...

  Thanks LeonG, I will have to see what they say in Greece if and when I apply to cross over. I just looked it up and in Greece it is simply a fine, so I would just have to pay more money I believe, if they do ask... I have drafted this letter to the Landkries and thought I would see if you guys had any opinion on things to add remove. I decided to leave the fact I can exchange my license out and can mention it in a later letter in case it puts there back up. Anyway, I would be keen to hear any improvements!   Dear Landkreis Reutlingen, I am writing to discuss the decision to require me to undergo the MPU psychological examination following my arrest for driving under the influence of drugs in Reutlingen, Germany. As a non-German speaker and resident of the UK, I face significant challenges in completing the MPU examination. I have not been able to locate a English speaking MPU preparation centre in order to understand the test prior to commencing. I can’t speak the same language as the examiner and have nowhere to stay in Germany to do this or even now anyone that lives there. The culmination of these factors makes my undertaking the MPU extremely challenging in comparison to a normal citizen. However, I assure you that I am committed to addressing any underlying issues that may have contributed to my drug use and improving my driving skills. I understand that my actions were irresponsible and potentially dangerous, and I deeply regret any harm that may have been caused. As I explained to the officer at the time, my consumption had been many hours prior to driving, I was just not aware of the long period of effect THC has. However, I believe that I am capable of learning from this mistake and becoming a responsible, law-abiding driver. I am very willing to undergo driving / drug rehabilitation for drug addiction in my own country (UK), and I am currently making progress towards becoming drug-free. I understand the importance of the MPU examination in ensuring the safety of all road users, and I am willing to cooperate fully with the examination process. If you are aware of any programs that I could complete in the UK that would fulfil the criteria of the MPU I would gladly complete them. I assure you that I am committed to making positive changes in my life and becoming a responsible and safe driver, despite the challenges that I may face in this process as a non-German speaker and resident of the UK. Thank you for your consideration.   Sincerely,     Once again, thanks for all your help, advice and guidance :)

  I see! So these new laws will be very limited in this area. I will still try to get this all done and dusted before the new laws are passed in case there are any changes to what is proposed.   It seems to me that the MPU is just incompatible with the EU legislation in such cases and it does not seem to be changing luckily.   Is the MPU generally popular / accepted / effective in Germany? I have seen lots of varying opinions reading around the subject, but that can be due to people being bitter about being banned... It just seems a bit crazy that even German nationals need to be coached on how to pass a psychological examination as an accepted route to rehabilitation. Just interested to see how people felt about it   Also, do you think that I need to say to the Greeks what happened in Germany under the current legislation ?   Thanks again for all your help :)

Hi KeithG and Keith 2011,   Thankyou again for your advice!   Thankyou for that link LeonG, Very useful and I read numerous other articles on the site which were very informative.   I tend to agree with you. I think that they will not accept it. But as it is only a letter it is worth a shot. I spoke with someone else in another thread, and they said that they were refusing to let him deviate from the procedures at all.   However as I said before I would rather deal with this in the correct channel if possible so will fully exhaust that option first...   I will update the thread as soon as I hear back from the Landkries.   But if I am forced to exchange my license it looks like I will be among the last to be able to use the loophole:  Driver disqualifications with EU-wide effect: an end to impunity for severe offences To prevent impunity among road traffic offenders, a new system will be put in place, allowing for an EU-wide driving disqualification when a Member State decides to disqualify a driver because of an offence committed on its territory. Holding road traffic offenders accountable in all Member States is essential for road safety. However, under current rules, when a serious offence results in a driving disqualification, it cannot be enforced EU-wide if the driver committed the offence in a Member State other than the one that issued his/her driving licence. Today's proposal covers severe road traffic offences such as excessive speeding, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and causing death or serious bodily injury as a result of any traffic offence.    https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_1145     Once again, thankyou both for your time and help

  Hi Keith, Thanks for your advice   On the first point about the UK fines, I made a mistake on the OP. The second fine was in euros, to the Landkries Reutlingen. Not to the Uk gov. It was just sent to me in the UK.   As I said above, I really hope that the UK Gov does not also take action on this. Your post has made me feel more confident of this.   And on the second part of your post. Thankyou !! It feels like I am on some insane merry go round of box ticking at the moment. and the other forums have been so aggressive towards me for just trying to understand what I can do and what is going on.   I paid 500 so they did not take my license / not prosecute I paid 1122 so they did not enforce a ban that they could not enforce and now as you said, I do test in another language and country to get back my license that I have not lost.   As I asked above do you think there is any point trying to negotiate  doing the MPU with the Landkries? offering to do a course here in England or something else?  due to the difficulties in me being able to do it? or is it a no hope situation?   Thanks again for your sympathetic ear and your help and advice

Thanks for clarifying all this LeonG,   By far the clearest explanation of this law given by anyone ! I even had a response from a judge on another thread!! I do not think I will ever need a German license, I just need to be able to cross the country every now and then. Which is why it is so irritating to have such a restriction. To pay thousands to cross over the country a few times in life...   So I will most likely just trade my license as it seems to be the most reasonable route to redemption.   Before I give up on them, do you think there is any point trying to negotiate with the Landkries? offering to do a course here in England or something else? or is it a no hope situation?   I would just rather have a more official route to being able to drive if possible...   Thanks again !!

Thanks for your help Lenny,   That is what I did not understand. The police officers said if I paid the 500 euro then the prosecutor would drop the case. to my understanding this would be over with that. It is now months later that I have started receiving these letters.   The first I did not understand as an "administrative charge" we don't have anything like that. The officer said it was much larger at 1000 euro as they could not take my license. So it sounds similar to what you are describing. In the UK we dont have administrative charges so this seems very strange to me (along with handing police 500 cash in the middle of the night). The police would deal with it all in one hit.   But I accepted this without fight as a lesson learned situation. It is the ongoing ban / MPU is far more difficult to deal with.  

Hi LeonG, Scook17 and BayrischDude, Thankyou for taking the time to respond to my thread.   Leon G, thanks for all of the information about the loophole.   I am actually half Greek and half English and own a home there so have all related records - bills proof of ownership etc.   Do you need to re take your test or do you just convert the license to a Greek one (in this case)?   Even if I am a genuine resident of another country is it worth pursuing this if the German police wont respect the new license?   in terms of the 10 year time out not starting if you don't have a German license, what happens then? is it indefinite ?     Scook17 thanks for the idea! I will look into the feasibility of a translator     BayrischDude I have not spoken to a lawyer.   First I made a mistake in my first post. The second fine was to the German authorities in euros not pounds. I apologize for the mistake.   I really hope that they do not contact the British Authorities !!!   But I have not spoken with a lawyer as the situation has escalated. on the night the police said if I paid the 500 euro then that would be the situation over. then the letter came from germany asking for 1122. and I thought that would end the matter. then this arrived...   now I am thinking that I should contact  one as I have no idea what might come next...   but it is irritating to not be able to drivee through Germany as I drive around Europe a lot and it makes certain routes very difficult. eg getting to Denmark   But the huge difficulty in completing this for what may end up only being hours here or there of driving is difficult to justify...   thanks again for all your help !! 

Last summer whilst driving through Germany I was pulled over and drug tested and failed the test showing positive for THC. I was driving on my UK license in my UK vehicle. I was fined on the spot 500 euro for the prosecutor to drop the case. I was then sent a letter from the local administrative office fining me £1122 which I paid. I have now received another letter instructing me that I need to complete an MPU psychological exam. Before I proceed I will say that I know what I have done is wrong, and will not do it again. The huge amount of money I have paid along with the trouble it caused my trip has been enough to put me off stopping smoking it for good. Even at the time I believed I was clean as many hours had passed since I smoked, but I was not aware how long this stuff stays in your system... As I am not a resident of Germany or a German speaker it is going to be nearly impossible for me to complete an mpu. My question relates to to the foreign license loophole for not completing the mpu. This is described here: https://www.toytowngermany.com/forum/topic/117661-drunk-driver-dodges-suspension-with-polish-license/ As such now that I have paid the fines (the second of which was in exchange of a ban, which apparently could not be enforced on a non eu license). Is the MPU ban enforceable on my license? or can I use the foreign license workaround? Thankyou for your help