Ready for the MAUT

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS EURO DRIVING FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
21

Steve, 300 BAG vehicles will be 600 officers as they always have two to a vehicle and then they have the stationary teams working at selected parking area near the control bridges, there are around 300 control bridges I think and there is always a nice big lay-by just after each bridge. More officers will be conducting what they call ‘Company-level enforcement’ and will be randomly checking transport companies to see if they have paid the required tolls. All this in addition to the regular duties of BAG officers and I can see where the need for 1000 additional officers comes from.

On a further note when the Sunday driving ban ends at 22.00 on 2 January thousands of Toll Collect helpers will be on hand to provide assistance at busy filling stations and service facilities with toll-station terminals.

22

The information about 1000 extra officers came from a German Government press release several months ago so I have no worries about its validity if I did I would not have even mentioned it.

23

OK, excuse me for being a bit dim here, but please enlighten this clueless yank, if possible:

You need to book your route 3 days ahead of time■■? This sounds incredibly restrictive. In the 10+ years that I drove long distance, I could only think of 2 or 3 times that I knew 3 days ahead what load I’d be carrying, much less what route I would take. I generally decided upon my route at the time I left the shipper, and based that route on several factors, traffic and weather being 2 of which would vary from day to day. On longer runs (2000+ miles), I would have a genaeral idea of my route, but would often modify it from day to day, depending on what sights might be along the way.

Is this something that is common, or are the Germans trying to impose a new level of order onto the system?

24

Alex by no means are you being dim.
You don´t have to book 3 days in advance but you can.
As for the various conditions and happenings that can cause a route to change or vary or even affect the amount of distance done per day it is obvious that the German government has decided to ignore these minor details, why ? well the reason is simple if you slip up you pay the fine which = more money in the coffers.
You realise that it is too complicated without an OBU so you pay to have one installed which = more money in the coffers.
Other slight aberrations with reference to European monopoly laws are conveniently ignored :open_mouth: . The monopoly being only toll collect sell the OBU´s and if you don´t buy one then your trade is restricted for the reasons previously stated.
If any other country had brought in such a system there would have been a great big hue and cry about it from the Germans and it would have banned before it even got off the fround.

25

i honestly don’t see the benefit of this system. auto toll collects are done so much cheaper where i live. it looks more like a way for people in government to hire a few more of their friends than an effort to streamline a toll system. i don’t know any german so i’m hard pressed to find out on my own, but i’d still be interested to know how the german people feel about this.

26

gorgeousload:
i honestly don’t see the benefit of this system. auto toll collects are done so much cheaper where i live. it looks more like a way for people in government to hire a few more of their friends than an effort to streamline a toll system. i don’t know any german so i’m hard pressed to find out on my own, but i’d still be interested to know how the german people feel about this.

No-one said it had to be done easily or cheaply mate :smiley: , this is Germany we are talking about :open_mouth: :laughing:

27

you’re right. government ■■■■■. i’ll just leave it at that

28

Vascoingles:
Other slight aberrations with reference to European monopoly laws are conveniently ignored :open_mouth: . The monopoly being only toll collect sell the OBU´s and if you don´t buy one then your trade is restricted for the reasons previously stated.

In fact Paul you don’t actually buy the OBU, it is supplied free of charge and remains the property of Toll Collect, which is I guess how they got round the fact that they are the only suppliers. What you pay for is the installation and you aren’t even paying Toll Collect for that but the service partner, in my case MAN and in your case Volvo. Toll Collect negotiated a flat fee with the service partners for installation regardless of how long the installation takes. When I replace my truck next December I’ll have to pay to have it removed from this vehicle and, after the details are changed on it, pay to have it installed in the new one but I would still rather do that for the ease of use and not having to mess around with the machines or internet booking.

29

this is just a thought. But could it be possible that the germans are trying to create a motorway where all the vehicles on it run on autopilot?

30

gorgeousload:
this is just a thought. But could it be possible that the germans are trying to create a motorway where all the vehicles on it run on autopilot?

Nein!! Ve haff no planz to make drivferz redundant!!

31

i’m 2nd generation american. my grandfather is from the berlin area. growing up i always heard my grandfather boast at how the germans are always so incredibly efficient and what not. although i’ve never been to germany, i have friends and family that have been there and have come back with similar stories. so when i hear of a toll collecting system that seems like it is going to create some serious on going traffic headaches, i have to stand back and wonder what this thing is for. snide remarks are fun but i can’t believe that germany would purposely create a back log for the sake of increased revenue. i want to believe that there is some greater good of all this. but i realise that yous are no doubt more worried about getting your trucks fitted with those obu thingies so i’ll probably have to wait for any explanation.

32

One OBU is OK, though they do take up a dashboard slot. If Belgium go for the same type of set-up. Then UK , it is going to become very difficult to see out of the windscreen.
We already have small windscreen mounted Dart Tag units for the Dartford Crossing tolls, the Austrian Go box for their tolls and the Italian Telepass for their tolls. These are all cigarette packet sized units, but when my wagon goes for its MOT (roadworthyness test), they all have to be removed. Anything other than tax and operators licence disc are considered as “obscuring the drivers vision”, so your wagon fails the test.
That windscreen mounted part looks bigger and is wired in, so it could be a pain to remove and replace for the MOT every year.
Unless all the countries get together and come up with a unified system, there will be no room in or on the dashboard to fit all the different countries units and only a tiny little square for the driver to peer through because of all the winscreen units.
Then we need somewhere to put our flags, name boards, lights and everything else :smiling_imp: :smiling_imp: :smiling_imp: We are going to need a periscope. :laughing: :laughing:

33

:smiley: :smiley: :smiley: GOOD THATS SORTED THEN,didnt like dsagreeing with COFFEE.Happy new year to you all cheers Joe.

34

Simon:
That windscreen mounted part looks bigger and is wired in, so it could be a pain to remove and replace for the MOT every year.

As it happens Simon photographs of the windscreen mounted part have been taken and sent to VOSA with a request as to whether in their opinion it would lead to an MOT failure, especially as the part that mounts it to the screen is stuck on like a rear view mirror and wouldn’t be easily removable. Their reply is being waited for with much excitement and baited breath and I will let you know the outcome as soon as they reach a decision, if they do. :wink: :smiley: :smiley: :smiley:

35

sweetleaf:
:smiley: :smiley: :smiley: GOOD THATS SORTED THEN,didnt like dsagreeing with COFFEE.Happy new year to you all cheers Joe.

Joe, feel free to disagree anytiime you like, only try to keep it for occasions when I’ve done something wrong. :wink: :smiley: :smiley: :smiley:

36

On a further MAUT related issue the following happened to me this week. I pulled into Sindelfinger Wald servicesnear Stuttgart for a break and as I exited the cab I was accosted by a bloke waving something long with a fluffy end in my face, fair worried me for a minute but then he asked if I could speak German and when I told him I could, to a point, he asked if he could interview me about the MAUT. Turns out he was from a radio station from the Stuttgart area called ‘Die Neue 107.7.’ Not a bad station as it happens and it has been stored in memory slot 4 on my radio since it started a while ago.

The interview went like this.

Him: Are you aware the LKW MAUT begins on the 1st of January?

Me: (Thinking I’d have to have been on Mars or in a coma for the last couple of years not to) Yes I am.

Him: Are you ready for it

Me: Yes I am

Him: How will you be dealing with it and paying?

Me: I have an OBU installed in the truck and an account with Toll Collect.

Him: Good, and do you know there are other ways to plan your trip such as the internet and the machines on the borders and in service stations?

Me: Yes.

Him: If you need to could you use one of these methods?

Me: Yes, I have a laptop and internet connection in the truck and could use that.

Him: What does your boss think of the MAUT

Me: I am the boss, it is my truck.

Him: AH, good, and do you have any problems with it so far?

Me: Not so far but I will have to wait and see what happens next week when everyone starts to use it.

Him OK thank you for your time.

Me: No problem, thank you.

So if you heard someone speaking bad German on ‘Die Neue 107.7’ this week, it was me. :wink: :smiley:

I also tried to slip in a mention for TruckNet but couldn’t manage it I’m sorry to say. :frowning: :frowning:

37

Coffeeholic:
I also tried to slip in a mention for TruckNet but couldn’t manage it I’m sorry to say. :frowning: :frowning:

You got interviewed, on radio, about MAUT and you didn’t mention TruckNet■■? :open_mouth: :open_mouth: :open_mouth:

Shame on you. :smiling_imp: :smiling_imp: :smiling_imp:

38

I was wondering how they got around the monopoly laws, thank you Neil you have enlightened me.
As for not managing to plug TruckNet on German radio did you know that certain organisations would have given some severe castigation for that ?

39

I would have to think there has got to be an easier way. Here in the northeast US, we have something called E Z Pass for tolls, and it works quite well (open link). In fact, it seems that Ohio and Indiana will soon be using this system on their toll roads, and possibly even Illinois as well. Once that happens, you’l be able to go all the way from New York to nearly Milwaukee using only a single toll unit.

If this does work out, let’s hope that other countries will get on the same programme and use the same equipment. Wouldn’t that be handy if you could automatically pay your road tax in France, Belgium, Germany, and your tunnel crossing, all with the same equipment?

40

Vascoingles:
As for not managing to plug TruckNet on German radio did you know that certain organisations would have given some severe castigation for that ?

:wink: :smiley: :smiley: :smiley: :smiley:
I believe castigation also costs extra in certain establishments. :wink: :smiley: