The claim

Apparently Ukrainian vehicle owners generally do not have to pay parking fees in Lörrach!

Our conclusion

This is not true! There was only a time-limited, more accommodating regulation for Ukrainian vehicle owners in April 2022. This regulation was only limited to April 2022 and was no longer valid after that.

“I pay taxes, what’s the point?”: Traffic ticket controversy from Baden-Württemberg is making waves

In June 2023, we at Mimikama were flooded with countless requests for a video shot on the streets of Lörrach, Baden-Württemberg. This video has garnered huge attention on social media. It shows a heated argument between a German driver and a municipal correctional service employee who ticketed him but left a Ukrainian vehicle unpunished.

From local incident to viral hit

The incident is likely to have occurred on April 16, 2022 on Feldbergstrasse in Lörrach, when a man observed his vehicle receiving a parking ticket while a Ukrainian vehicle was spared. Outraged by this, he posted a video of it online, which soon went viral. “Why does the vehicle with a Ukrainian license plate have no ticket, but I have one here?” asks the man angrily in the video.

Screenshot from the video "Do Ukrainians in Lörrach really don't have to pay parking fees?"
Screenshot from the video “Do Ukrainians in Lörrach really don’t have to pay parking fees?”

Although the GVD employee attempted to defuse the situation by asking the man to resolve the matter with the city, the controversy continued on social media. The video has been shared hundreds of thousands of times in 2022 and is still making the rounds on social media.

Statement from the city of Lörrach

Due to the ongoing controversy and the many inquiries at Mimikama, we wrote to the city of Lörrach and asked for a statement. The city responded promptly with a clear statement:

MIMIKAMA
Statement from the city of Lörrach

“…in April 2022, fundamental parking violations among Ukrainian vehicle owners were examined on a case-by-case basis and a more accommodating regulation was applied. This goodwill did not apply to existing traffic hazards, such as parking in a fire department driveway. This regulation was only limited to April 2022 and was no longer valid after that.
Best regards"

In 2022, the city of Lörrach also filed a criminal complaint against the man who recorded the video for violating personal rights through the recording of the image.

Still open questions

However, questions still remain. It is not clear from the video whether the ticket was issued for overstaying or whether the man did not have a parking ticket at all. It is also mentioned that a parking disc can briefly be seen in the Ukrainian car.

Conclusion: The claim that Ukrainian vehicle owners in Lörrach generally do not have to pay parking fees, as well as the claim that they are spared from parking tickets, are false. There was only a temporary, more accommodating regulation for Ukrainian vehicle owners in April 2022

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Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )