Police are conducting a speed camera marathon across Germany this week. April 9 is scheduled to be the most intensive day of so-called “speed week”. Here’s what drivers should know:

“Speed week” continues in Germany

Between April 7 and 13, police are carrying out a “speed camera marathon” (Blitzermarathon) across Germany. Roadpol, a network of European traffic police forces, is the organisation behind the action. Roadpol police will conduct additional speed checks, particularly on stretches of roads, highways, and motorways where there are frequent accidents, and they will penalise drivers who are caught speeding.

Almost all roads in Germany have speed limits - even stretches of the autobahn - and drivers caught exceeding the speed limit face fines, penalty points, and even driving bans. The amount of the speeding fine depends on whether you are driving in a built-up area or not, and how many kilometres per hour (km/h) you are driving over the speed limit.

Where can drivers expect cameras during Germany’s Blitzermarathon?

This week’s speed camera marathon will be extensive. Police in the following federal states will be monitoring drivers more than usual: Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hesse, Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein and Thuringia.

Controls are set to be particularly strict in Saxony, where the Blitzermarathon coincides with a “Blitz für Kids” awareness week highlighting children’s road safety on their way to school.

Berlin and Saarland are the only federal states where police will not be carrying out extra checks.

Police will check speeding even more diligently on April 9

While police will carry out more extensive checks between April 7 and 13, extra controls will be more extensive on certain days, namely April 9.

In Bavaria and Thuringia, extra controls will be limited to April 9. In some other states, such as Lower Saxony, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, controls will be equally extensive across all days, with no particular focus on April 9. In Brandenburg, police will concentrate on controlling motorbike drivers on April 7 and 8, then monitor boulevard streets more closely on April 9.

According to a spokesperson from Roadpol, of the 25.000 fatal road accidents that occur in Europe each year, most of them are caused by speeding while driving. Previous editions of the speed operation, with over 100.000 fines issued across Europe, proved successful in reducing the number of road victims by 25 percent. 

After the spring Blitzermarathon, Germany’s next widespread “speed week” is scheduled for August 4 to 10, 2025.

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