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German app lets cyclists report drivers parked in bike lanes

Wegeheld app has been downloaded 100,000 times and resulted in 70,000 photos being uploaded to Twitter

A free app that enables cyclists in Germany to report drivers who block cycle lanes has been downloaded more than 100,000 times, according to a report in the newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and has resulted in 70,000 pictures of illegally-parked cars being uploaded to Twitter.

Developed by Berlin-based cycling campaigner Heinrich Strössenreuther, the Wegeheld (‘Road Hero’) app enables users to take a picture of cars parked in cycle lanes – or other places where it is forbidden to park, such as pavements or close to pedestrian crossings – and posts the picture automatically to the @DasMussWeg Twitter account.

It also notifies the relevant authorities – similar to the way in which Cycling UK’s Fill That Hole app allows people to notify councils of potholes.

Asked if it was an app for “snitchers,” he said: “Well, snitching in the playground isn’t good, but if one of the kids is holding a knife, it’s all about danger, all the parents are glad that somebody said something.

“And this is actually about danger. If a child or a wobbly old lady cycles past a car parked on the bike path, that's a dangerous situation. That's actually the core issue.

“We have a selfish minority in traffic at the moment who are misbehaving and are making the lives of the majority more difficult.”

Strössenreuther also criticised law enforcement agencies for not doing their job and said that fines for people parking in cycle lanes are not a sufficient deterrent.

“We have a scale of fines in Germany that does not lead to motorists sticking to the rules. If the fines are only a ridiculous ten or fifteen euros, nobody suffers, and unfortunately you can see that on the streets.

“Once you pay 100 euros, you ‘d think about whether you’d put your car there a second time.”

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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6 comments

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50kcommute | 5 years ago
0 likes

It would be great if someone could tie up with a local council to set this up as a revenue generator...money equals take up!

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velo-nh | 5 years ago
0 likes

Does the app censor the license plates?

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riggbeck | 5 years ago
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In Munich I find it is normally a police potrol car parked blocking the cycle paths, no emergency, the  occupants are just watching the world go by, would be amusing to send a photo of them to them and see if they write themselves a ticket.

Possibly not worth the effort though, as the artical points out, German traffic offence penalties are a bit of a joke, even drink driving can be a minimal fine and no ban. Speeding, that might be as silly as 10 euro.

 

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tugglesthegreat | 5 years ago
3 likes

I'd never get into work if I logged all the cars in bike lanes!

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hawkinspeter | 5 years ago
5 likes

It'd be great for UK to have this, but as I understand it, parking issues have been pushed onto councils who couldn't care less about poorly parked cars.

We could report hundreds/thousands of inconsiderately parked cars, and the council would just tell you to chase it up with their sub-contracted private firm (who just have an answer message on their phone) and even if the parking firm bothers to go check, it'd be in a few days time and the offending vehicle wouldn't be there.

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ktache | 5 years ago
1 like

Good.  One for "distracted" driving would be great too.

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