The Hamburg Administrative Court issued a sentence on the circumstances in which it is lawful to tow a vehicle in front of an electric charge station that has surprised in Germany, as published by the media .
A man parked his combustion car at a cargo station for electric cars, but this was not in use. Despite this, the vehicle was towed and the man had to pay 472.10 euros. There were four signs in the affected parking lot: traffic signal 314 (parking), number 7 of Annex 3 of article 42, paragraph 2 of the Circulation Regulation (STVO), and three additional signals that indicated electric cars, “in load” and “1 hour”, as explained by the medium.
The vehicle driver appealed the notification of the rate and argued that his vehicle did not obstruct traffic, but was parked. Contrary to what the defendant claimed, there was no loading station in said parking lot, since it had been withdrawn more than a year ago and a new one had not yet been installed.
The plaintiff attached photos of his claim, which, according to him, show that there was no cargo station in the parking lot from where he was towed. The attached photos show a load station with a sign that says: “We are promoting the transition of transport. Soon a new HPC station will be built. Once connected to our electricity grid, you can load here 150 kW.”
The Hamburg Administrative Court confirmed the traffic violation: a vehicle with internal combustion motor cannot be parked in a place reserved exclusively for electric vehicles “during the loading process.” Not even an electric car could have been parking there, since it could not have been charged due to the lack of electrical connection and, therefore, would not have met the additional signal requirements.
However, the decisive factor was that the court considered that the trailer was disproportionate. This was based on article 14, paragraph 1, phrase 2, of the Hamburg Law for the Protection of Security and Public Order (Hmbsog). According to this, measures to avoid danger, such as ensuring the vehicle by trailer, can only be adopted if necessary and adequate.
