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Gaffer in Northeim: City fire chief calls for harsher punishments!
City fire chief Franke is calling for tougher penalties in Northeim against onlookers who hinder rescue workers and endanger safety.
Gaffer in Northeim: City fire chief calls for harsher punishments!
In Northeim, the behavior of onlookers at emergency scenes is causing increasing concern among the emergency services. City Fire Chief Nils Franke has now spoken out urgently and is calling for these troublemakers to be consistently punished. Onlookers, who often gather around accident scenes, hinder the work of the fire and rescue services and thereby endanger not only the emergency services, but also the injured themselves. HNA reports that when firefighters arrive on scene, they are often confronted with onlookers who ignore the barriers and often even slow down to a standstill just to catch a curious look.
“I have no sympathy for gawkers,” says Franke, who points out the recurring problems. He sees the safety of all road users at risk, particularly on the motorways, where such incidents occur more frequently. “Every minute counts when lives are at stake,” he emphasizes, calling for higher penalties to get people to change their minds.
Legal consequences
But the problem is not only known in Northeim. The President of the German Fire Brigade Association, Karl-Heinz Banse, suggests tougher penalties nationwide. At present, gawkers face fines of up to 1,000 euros, but according to Banse, this does not act as a sufficient deterrent. Catalog of fines also mentions a new Section 115 of the Criminal Code, which is intended to toughen the penalties for gawkers, especially for those who take photos at the scene of an accident and share them on the Internet.
Gawking can be punished not only as a misdemeanor, but in serious cases also as a criminal offense. For example, anyone who obstructs the work of rescue workers also faces legal consequences, which can range from fines to several years in prison. According to the German Road Safety Council DVR Gaping endangers the lives of accident victims and can even lead to subsequent accidents.
Rules of conduct for accident witnesses
In order to defuse the situation and make it easier for emergency services to work, the police are calling on people to actively prevent such incidents. This includes, among other things, clear rules of conduct for accident witnesses. This includes forming an emergency lane, putting on a high-visibility vest and securing the scene of the accident.
People often don't realize that their behavior doesn't just hinder the emergency services. Every moment they spend focusing on gawking can cost crucial minutes during which victims could potentially receive much-needed help. Future laws could also allow police to confiscate smartphones and cameras from onlookers at the scene of an accident, further increasing the consequences for this type of behavior.
It remains to be hoped that with these measures and a change in thinking in society, gawking at emergency sites will soon be a thing of the past and the safety of all road users can be guaranteed again.