Parking - Chocolate instead of parking tickets - police reward drivers
When Sandra Wendt and Dennis Incalcaterra walk through Giengen an der Brenz in Baden-Württemberg, thickly wrapped up in their jackets with"Ordnungsamt" written on them, they sometimes receive angry looks. At the moment, however, these quickly dissolve into hearty laughter. That's because they are handing out chocolate to people who park properly during the Advent season.
"I was pleasantly surprised and very pleased that I didn't get a parking ticket here," says Marco Valentini, for example. He parked correctly and found an Advent greeting including a piece of chocolate on the windshield of his car. "They're welcome to come back at Easter and hand out bunnies," he adds and laughs. He has seen a completely different side of the public order office.
Positive feedback
This is another reason for the campaign, says Mayor Dieter Henle. "We want to show people during the Advent season that our public order service can also be straight and narrow sometimes," he says. Henle cannot say whether people's parking behavior changes as a result of the campaign - the city does not keep statistics on this, but the feedback is positive.
According to Henle, the sweet parking tickets were issued for the first time in 2018, with a break in the pandemic years. According to the mayor, the sweet parking ticket costs the city around 20 euros, and he donates the chocolate pieces privately.
Campaigns in other cities too
The city is not alone with this idea. Other cities also distribute sweet parking tickets, for example at Christmas or around Easter. In Giengen, Wendt and Incalcaterra manage to collect around 1000 lobes during the campaign week. But there is still the bitter counterpart during this time if someone doesn't park properly.
"Once a year, it's okay to hand out chocolate," says Incalcaterra, a member of the public order department. "Otherwise, the rule is: no warning is praise enough." His colleague Wendt agrees. "You should just stick to the highway code."
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- Sandra Wendt and Dennis Incalcaterra hail from Giengen an der Brenz, located in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
- One chilly winter day, they distributed chocolate instead of parking tickets in Giengen, much to the delight of the city's residents.
- The public order office in Giengen an der Brenz has a reputation for strictly enforcing traffic regulations, but this time, they showed a softer side.
- This unusual campaign to encourage proper parking during the Christmas season drew positive feedback from locals and visitors alike.
- In other German cities, similar campaigns have been initiated, offering sweet rewards for obeying parking rules during festive seasons like Christmas and Easter.
- Giengen's campaign, which started in 2018 and resumed after the pandemic, relies on a small budget, hosting a festive event week to distribute around 1000 lobes of chocolate.
- During the same period, traffic violators still face the usual consequences, emphasizing the importance of following the Highway Code in Giengen.
- Incalcaterra, a member of Giengen's public order department, believes that while occasional rewards are okay, the Highway Code should always be respected to maintain proper traffic management.
Source: www.stern.de
