Who would have believed that? Wasn’t the rule of the law abolished in Bremen? Didn’t they allow everyone to park illegally, on pavements, on cycle paths, on junctions, in the park, you name it?
Illegal in Bremen Neustadt (Foto: Beatrix Wupperman)
No chance for safe cycling: Cycle path blocked by cars (Foto: Beatrix Wupperman)
No, a judge bravely decided: legally parked cars cannot be towed away
He had to decide whether the innocently and legally parked car of Wolfgang K-N was towed away legally, as Wolfgang didn’t want to pay the fine. He had put his car correctly on the road, whilst behind him 57 cars were parked illegally half on the pavement. Later another car put himself right beside him, two wheels on the pavement, thus stopping the bin van to come through. That’s when the police appeared.
Legally parked: The blue car in the background (on the right)
“He stood different to the others”, said the police woman in charge to the judge, explaining why she did what she did. “Should I have towed away the other 58?” The audience called out: “Yes”. The judge was clear: “The witnesses (the two policewomen) did not abide the law.”
So legal parking is allowed, Bremen is not a banana republic any more, judges decide by the law.
Will the 58 cars be towed away now? Well, yesterday they were still happily sitting there, one wheel on the pavement: Illegally.