Camera System for Low Emission Zones: Surveillance State or Necessary Digitalisation?
As a pioneer in Germany, Munich wants to use camera systems for the first time to record environmental zone offenders and make them pay. In other countries, the monitoring of environmental zones has been digital for a long time. This makes them more reliable and tends to make the air cleaner. But in the case of Munich, there is much criticism.
Data protection is a top priority in Germany. Digital processes therefore lag far behind in comparison to other countries. This is the case, for example, with the administration of the citizens' registration office, BAföG or other state services. And also in the area of traffic: environmental zones, driving bans, parking violations. The German state relies on manpower from the public order office and the police.
In other EU countries, the recording of vehicles by camera system is common practice. For example, in Barcelona in Spain, the low emission zones in Belgium, Denmark and also in the many low emission zones in Great Britain, cameras are used to scan and check all vehicles as they enter. Those who do not have a registration or do not meet the requirements are fined. This is not only very effective and captures almost every vehicle, while saving officials from manually checking vehicles. It also helps with the actual implementation of the rules of the environmental zones and thus improves air quality as more people tend to comply with the rules if every violation is actually penalised.
As the first location in Germany, Munich is now also to use camera systems to check driving bans. Only recently, the city had rejected the tightening of the diesel driving ban and now has to answer for it in court. Now, however, the city wants to crack down at least on the diesel vehicles that are banned. So-called ScanCars will soon be on the road to control the driving bans and also parking violators. While manual controls can check about 50 vehicles per person, the camera system now makes it possible to check about 1000 vehicles.
This is made possible by the traffic light government's new Road Traffic Act, which gives municipalities more freedom in taking measures against car traffic. In future, it will also be easier for municipalities to set up 30 km/h speed zones, create space for pedestrians and cyclists and open up certain roads for electric and hydrogen vehicles. The new law will also make it easier for municipalities to impose new driving bans on internal combustion vehicles.
There are many critics of the Munich camera system. The deputy parliamentary group leader of the CSU, Evelyne Menges, commented on the new surveillance system with the words "George Orwell sends his regards". The SPD also does not want blanket surveillance of motorists in Munich. Whether the Kreisverwaltungsreferat (KVR) can get its way remains to be seen.
If the concept gains a foothold in Munich, digital monitoring could certainly soon arrive in other cities in Germany. It would certainly be a good thing for compliance in the environmental zones and for air pollution.