Ready for the MAUT

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS EURO DRIVING FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
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This week I had the OBU for the German MAUT installed in the vehicle and after a long winded process that took several months I am finally ready for when it kicks of on the 1st of January.

I had the box installed at an MAN dealer in Gartringen, near Stuttgart, because i am in that area more than any other so problems should be easy to get rectified. The installation is supposed to take around 4 hours but mine took 8, one of which was lunchtime. My colleague also had his installed on the same day and they started on his MAN 3 hours after they started installing mine and we finished at the same time. The guy in MAN said the dashboard in MANs comes to bits easier than in Volvos, or as he put it ‘Mans fall to bits easier.’ :smiley: :smiley: :smiley:

It all seems to be working OK and although the system is very late in starting, around 15 months late, it does seem to work well now and although I would rather not have to pay the toll I can understand the reasons behind it and the sooner the UK adopt a system the better.

My regular run out of Germany from 30 km south of Stuttgart to Luxembourg, which is a combination of Autobahn and toll free national roads, will from the 1st of January cost €26.85 and I reckon I’ll be spending somewhere in the region of £3000 on tolls in Germany next year. :open_mouth: :open_mouth: :open_mouth:

The installation of the OBU cost €260 which I feel is worth it for the ease of use and not having to queue at borders ect to use the machines to log the route. Because I gave the MAN guy my VAT number and he took a copy of my passport he didn’t have to charge me the VAT on the installation which was handy. I would have got the VAT back eventually but better not to have to wait for it, or pay the VAT recovery agents commission.

The installation consists of three parts. The first is the unit itself which is the size of a radio/cd player/new type tacho and installs in a DIN slot in the cab, mine went below the radio so I’ve lost the cubby hole I used to keep my wallet and Polos in. Picture below, not great quality I’m afraid.

Of the 13 buttons on the front only 5 actually do anything at the moment, the rest are likely to be used when there is a software update towards the end of next year.

The second part of the installation is a thing that goes in the windscreen and communicates with the MAUT bridges across the Autobahns and the BAG vans can also communicate with the truck as they go past so they can check if you have the unit set correctly.

The final part is an antenna on the roof of the cab to communicate with the satellites to give the GPS fix.

Operation is dead simple. When you start the engine the unit fires into life and asks you to input the number of axles, between 2 and 9. You can’t enter a number less than the number of axles you registered with Toll Collect which in my case is 2. Next it asks if you want to start a new route or continue adding to the price already displayed on the screen and finally it asks if you want to assign a Cost Centre number to this trip. That’s it, off you go and while on the Autobahn it displays the road number, the next junction number, the cost of the segment between the junctions you are at the moment and the total amount accrued so far, since you last reset it. Once the vehicle reaches a set speed, 18km/h I think, you cannot change the details entered as the buttons no longer work.

I’m glad I’ve managed to get the OBU installed before the system starts as I can only imagine the chaos at the borders the first few weeks of the year as those who are registered but don’t have an OBU try to use the machines with their cards and those who are not registered have to enter everything manually. This will include booking a route and if that changes they will have to go to the next machine and alter/rebook their route.

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:laughing: An article in last Saturdays Westdeutsche Zeitung was saying that only 10% of wagons would be checked,this is something to do with data collection laws,so it could be that if you dont do regular trips it may be worth the risk not paying,this is what B.A.G. expects will happen with foreign wagons.But as Coffee says it will be chaos at first.Glad it doesnt concern me. cheers Joe. Happy New Year. :smiley: :smiley: :smiley:

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I was getting a bit concerned that we hadn’t had OBU’s fitted yet,but when I arrived in Genk today I was told that all our trucks are going to Eupen next week to have them fitted.
Don’t think they’ll be the in-dash one like you have Neil,we have the Dynafleet unit fitted under the radio slot.

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I went for the in dash one because I think the on dash ones are an ugly bit of kit, mind you that was before I saw the size of the thing they put in the windscreen. The Workshop Foreman in Germany was telling me that although both units work in the same manner the Grundig in dash ones are far easier to install than the Siemens on dash ones and he was very happy both myself and Mick were having the Grundigs.

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Still,at least we’ll have them fitted.As you say,it’s going to be chaos the first few weeks whilst everyone gets used to using the machines at the borders.
Personally I think it’s crazy that if you go off route for some reason,say if you get re-directed by the office to load somewhere,then you have to re-book it.
It’s all very well for someone like yourself that knows where your delivery and loading points are at the start of the week,but we go to unload somewhere and don’t know where we’re reloading until we send a message to say we’re empty!

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I don’t always know where I’m going to reload, things change or get added which is why I’m glad to have the box fitted as it removes those problems. Doing it via the machines will be a nightmare, look at the confusion and queues the Swiss tax machines can cause and they are very simple compared to the MAUT machines.

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Just out of curiosity, do they actually have a toll class for single axle vehicles■■? :confused: :confused: :confused:

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No Alexx, the least number of axles you can register is two so it appears uni-cycles are exempt from the toll. Mind you it would need to be a 12 tonne uni-cycle before it came anywhere near being part of the toll system. :smiley: :smiley: :smiley:

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I was told last week while i was in Stuttgart they are still having problems with the software and that they didnt think the system will be up and running untill february at the earliest, dont know if this has changed in the last weeek or not. A friend of mine was having his fitted in Denmark at a Merc dealer who was telling him that for the first 2 years the new members of the EU ie Georgia etc are exempt from any road tolls in Germany, how true this is i dont know, I have asked a few people and they have not heard about anyone being exempt.
Steve

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I have the same Grundig model fitted as Neil and it works perfectly so far and it only took 3 1/2 hours to install in the Volvo dealers in Weert.
And as for certain countries being exempt this is not correct as all vehicles using the German motorway sytem will be obliged to pay.
Another disadvantage when not having the machine installed is that if there is a traffic jam (and the german ones are always good ones) you cannot divert with out first finding a maut terminal so that you can cancel the previously entered journey and replace it with a new one that includes the desired diversion.
Furthermore when using the terminal option you can only enter up to where you plan to take your daily rest so if you have a good day and can get further you have to cancel and re enter once again or if the parking area is full and you have to go further to find another one you are now driving illegally unless the parking area has a terminal where you can once again cancel and re enter.
So be assured chaos is pre-programmed and even though toll collect have employed 5000 helpers to assist with the terminals it will be chaos as apparently the British, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Italians have been somewhat reluctant to go for the OBU option as have most of the Eatern European countries.

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You are not wrong about the British being reluctant to go for the OBU option Paul, speaking to someone at Toll Collect a couple of weeks ago they said only just over 150 GB registered trucks had had an OBU fitted.

Biggles the system will be up and running from the 1st of January, the green light for it to start was given on the 15th of this month. As Paul said there are no exempt countries.

If you have already registered with Toll Collect you can book your route up to 3 days in advance through the internet and bookings will start at midnight on 28th December 2004. Non registered companies can only book at the toll terminals. There will be 3617 toll terminals of which only 1795 will be open 24/24.

Incidently the new MAUT is the latest thing to attract all the ‘Urban Myth’ stories from drivers at the moment with many wild and crazy theories being spouted about what the machines/MAUT Brucke/ BAG can and can’t do. :wink: :smiley:

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:astonished: I’m not starting urban myths,just passing on some info I saw in Newspaper in Germany.Maybe the journalist and B.A.G. will come on this forum sometime and YOU can tell them how the MAUT works.I dont know why I bother to pass on any info as it seems somebody knows it all.As for the MAUT, personally I dont give a ****. Bye JOE.

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sweetleaf:
:o I’m not starting urban myths,just passing on some info I saw in Newspaper in Germany.Maybe the journalist and B.A.G. will come on this forum sometime and YOU can tell them how the MAUT works.I dont know why I bother to pass on any info as it seems somebody knows it all.As for the MAUT, personally I dont give a ****. Bye JOE.

Urban Myths or not, you can bet your bottom dollar that any truck caught without making some kind of payment will be fined and it will cost a lot more than the daily charge. The BAG will be out as normal and I bet they will want to see how you pay the tax.

Fitting a box just makes it a lot easier to be legal, and you can change your reload at the last minute, or even get lost as many times as you like :blush:

BYE MALC

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Fact… The BAG have employed 1000 extra officers in order to check on the trucks

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Coffeeholic:
Biggles the system will be up and running from the 1st of January, the green light for it to start was given on the 15th of this month. As Paul said there are no exempt countries.I

Fair enough, was only passing on what the planner in a large German haulage company told me last week when I asked about the new toll collect, nice to know that i get told wrong information by german transport companys, much like being at home really,

1000 new BAG officers just to enforce the new toll collect, that’s gona knock a big hole in the revenue collected, still its a fact so it aint one of these 'urban myth’s that seem to be doing the rounds at the moment
Steve

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sweetleaf:
:o I’m not starting urban myths,just passing on some info I saw in Newspaper in Germany.Maybe the journalist and B.A.G. will come on this forum sometime and YOU can tell them how the MAUT works.I dont know why I bother to pass on any info as it seems somebody knows it all.As for the MAUT, personally I dont give a ****. Bye JOE.

Agree with you Joe, best to keep it to your self unless of course its a ‘Fact’
Im off to look at some Darwin awards, gather they have a lot of urban myths on that site.
Steve

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As those of us who traipse through Europe will be aware the Germans have been attempting to introduce an electronic toll system for goods vehicles called the Maut since the end of August 2003.
This accident prone, scandal ridden, highly technical and far too complicated system will eventually come into being in January 2005 despite all it’s teething problems and although this will not cause too many problems for those who go to Germany on a regular basis as their companies will more than likely have the electronic On Board Units fitted thereby enabling them to wander through Germany at will and the bill will be presented and paid at a later date.
Those who’s companies do not fit the OBU´s or who do not go to Germany on a regular basis or who have to use a hired vehicle for a trip will be faced with certain complications due to the complexity of the system.
The methods of payment for such vehicles are as follows :

Booking of the route to be followed can be effected via the internet by either the office or the driver.
Booking of the route can be effected via telephone.
Both of the above methods require previous registration with the maut operating company Toll Collect.
Journeys can also be booked and paid for at one of the approximately 3000 maut terminals that have been positioned throughout Germany with a further few having been placed in Austria, Belgium and Holland.
The main disadvantage of using any of the above three methods is that the route must be pre planned and registered and should a diversion become necessary the previously booked route must be cancelled and the new one re entered at one of the maut terminals or by one of the other methods mentioned above. When booking a route attention must be paid to the fact that if you are planning to have your daily break in Germany then you can only book the journey up to the place where you intend to have your rest period, if for some reason you cannot reach the pre advised place then once again re-booking becomes necessary. A further disadvantage to these methods of payment is that should one wish to divert to avoid one of the infamous German traffic jams or you are doing multi drop and your run is changed then once again re-booking becomes necessary.

Where are these maut terminals ■■?
Where can a list of terminals be obtained ■■?

  1. By visiting www.toll-collect.de a list can be downloaded as a pdf file.
  2. When pre registering with Toll Collect a list will be provided.
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sweetleaf:
:o I’m not starting urban myths,just passing on some info I saw in Newspaper in Germany.Maybe the journalist and B.A.G. will come on this forum sometime and YOU can tell them how the MAUT works.I dont know why I bother to pass on any info as it seems somebody knows it all.As for the MAUT, personally I dont give a ****. Bye JOE.

Hold on there sweetleaf, I never said anything about the information you posted being wrong, a myth or anything else. The ‘urban myth’ comment wasn’t directed at the information you posted but a general comment regarding the fact that everybody is being told different things by different people, witness the fact that Biggles was told by a German transport planner that it was unlikely to start on the 1st of January yet it has been all over the German media that the green light for the start had been given by the government. I saw it on one TV channel, heard it on a couple of radio stations and read it in a paper but the guy Biggles was talking to must have missed all that. It has also been repotrted by the transport media in the UK. There is no doubt it is going to start on the 1st but that’s not to say the whole thing won’t have crashed and burned by the 2nd when everybody attempts to use it at teh same time. :wink: :smiley: :smiley:

Another guy had told Biggles that some countries would be exempt and both Vasco and I pointed out that this was wrong and indeed Biggles himself said no one else he had asked had heard of countries being exempt. and that he didn’t know how true it was.

I’ve heard loads of theories about what is going to happen and what isn’t and most of them can be disproved just by a little bit of reading about the MAUT. Everytime the subject of the MAUT comes up among drivers there is a new conspiracy theory put forward that someone has heard from someone else, who heard it from their boss, who heard it from someone else. Drivers love a good tale and I only meant that the MAUT was giving loads of opportunities for myths to spring up. Classic example is ‘If you aren’t registered on the system you won’t be allowed into Germany as you won’t be able to pay the toll.’ This is another myth as you can still use a machine to log your route, it will just take longer as all the information will need to be entered by hand.

I’m sorry if you took it that I was having a dig at you, I wasn’t and I am sorry you seem to have got the wrong end of the stick but I assure you I was meaning the friend of a friend of a friend stories that are doing the rounds not the information you got from a newspaper and posted on here.

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With nothing to do for the last hour or so thought i would have a look through a few of the German goverment sites that are dealing with the toll collect system
Though my German is not perfect I can understand most of the forms, a few are in English
Exempt vehicles ( no countries though, so thats one myth out the window)

  1. Police vehicles
  2. Civil defence and disaster relief vehicles
  3. Fire department vehicle
  4. Other emergency vehicles
  5. Federal vehicles
  6. Vehicles used exclusively for road maintenance
  7. Vehicles Used exclusively in the carnie and circus businesses
  8. Vehicles not exclusively intended for freight transport.
    If you make a false exemption claim fine is upto e20,000 or 5 years in prison, if fraud is proven.

And from what i can find out looking at what the BAG are gona be upto, they seem to be alocating 300 vehicles and drivers 24hrs a day to check vehicles that do not have or are not registered with toll collect, Tho the site i checked that info was a week old, so they could have found another 700 BAG men since then.
Steve

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On a further note regarding item 8 above, Vehicles not exclusively intended for freight transport, that seems to cover, vehicles that are used for mobile radio broadcasts, medical research vehicles ( I would assume mobile cat scanners would come into that) training vehicles, classic vehicles, and quite a few more, but you get the idea.
Steve