New member here and have spent several hours already reading through the various sections. Must say that there is a lot of very useful information already posted from which I have learned a lot and no doubt shall continue learning.
I feel sure that over the coming months as the wife and I prepare for the 2012 season I'll be posting quite a few questions of my own as well.Anyway, moving on to the real purpose of this post. In one of the threads (can't remember which one now but dated some time ago) mention was made of the German 'Unwelt Zones' introduced a few years ago now. Since that time a few changes have been made and so I thought a timely reminder for those considering visiting or passing through Germany in 2012 might come in handy.
As a reminder the original sign looked like the image posted below. These signs can now be found on the outskirts of an increasing number of German towns and cities including the approach roads (main roads) even though one might not be stopping in the town/city itself. The best way of visualizing it is to think of a ring encircling any particular town/city in which vehicle emissions are tightly regulated.
The 'Red', 'Yellow' and 'Green' discs on the sign correspond to the 'sticker' that each vehicle must display on the bottom right hand corner of the windshield. If your vehicle carries the corresponding sticker you are allowed entry past the boundary of the road shield. For example, if your vehicle carries a 'Red' sticker then you are allowed to proceed past the shield and enter into the 'Unwelt Zone'.
In the above paragraph I deliberately chose the 'Red' sticker as an example because as these 'Unwelt Zones' have been in existence for quite some time now, and with a corresponding drive by the Government to do away with older vehicles or those not meeting the latest exhaust emission standards by offering a subsidy to owners choosing to replace their vehicles, the displayed 'Unwelt Zone' road sign is now being amended by an increasing number of town/city authorities.
What you are likely to find now is that the 'Red' circle on the road sign is crossed out (or completely removed in some cases) which translates to that only vehicles carrying either a 'Yellow' or 'Green' sticker are allowed entry. In the next year or two the intention is that the 'Yellow' circle will be removed translating to that only vehicles with a 'Green' sticker may proceed into or through the zone.
Now, you may think that by having a fairly modern vehicle this won't be of concern to you. However, you'd be surprised how many owners here in Germany, including several luxury models, can't now legally enter into the town/city where they live. Some vehicle owners initially warranting a 'Red' sticker have been (at great cost) able to mechanically improve their vehicles emission but very many haven't been able to and are now essentially stuck with a piece of junk.
The cost of these stickers is between €5 - €8 and can be obtained through any Dekra/TUV (equivalent to the UK's MOT testing stations) on production of the vehicles registration papers. However, as to the best of my knowledge UK car registration papers (unlike those in Germany) do not carry the emission standard of the vehicle and so either the vehicle will be subjected to a test or the date of first registration is used as the basis for classification.
Recent changes to EU law mean that any road traffic fines incurred in an EU country can be forwarded to your country of residence (if in EU) where an additional administrative cost will be also be incurred. In short then, non compliance with the carrying of an approved sticker can be quite costly. It is possible to order stickers prior to a trip by submitting Registration Documents via fax or e-mail (as a scanned document) or as a copy by post. The sticker will then be forwarded by post but postage costs will have to be paid on top of the cost of the sticker. For members of the AA/RAC I would strongly advice popping into one of their offices and seeking assistance prior to any intended trips.
My apologies if this first post of mine has been rather long but I thought that this information may come in useful for a few members.
(got a bad memory!)
