In Germany, the use of speed camera apps in the car is prohibited – according to a recent court ruling, this also applies to other vehicle occupants.
The easiest way to avoid being flashed is to stick to the speed limit. Speed traps are particularly important in front of kindergartens, schools and retirement homes to ensure road safety. Nevertheless, some drivers feel ripped off by speed checks – and the devices feel this anger in part. Speed cameras are lit or even blown up. In the Canadian metropolis Toronto, which is concerned about road safety, there was a whole series of attacks on speed traps after the mayor announced that he wanted to set up numerous new speed cameras. In Germany, many drivers try to avoid fines with the help of speed camera apps – even though the apps are banned. Now there is a groundbreaking verdict.
Speed camera warnings on the smartphone: They are also forbidden for the passenger
As the Karlsruhe Higher Regional Court (AZ 2 ORbs 35 Ss 9/23) has now decided, the use of speed camera apps is not only prohibited for the driver, but also for the passenger. In the present case, the police had stopped a 64-year-old driver who had raced through Heidelberg at significantly higher speeds than they had dpa reported. The officials discovered a speed camera app on the passenger’s cell phone – according to a survey, these are quite popular with Germans despite the ban. The man had apparently tried to push his companion’s smartphone aside – but it didn’t help: he was sentenced to a fine of 100 euros by the Heidelberg District Court.
Speed camera warning on the smartphone: According to the court, all vehicle passengers are prohibited from using it
Because the speeder did not want to pay the fine, the case went before the Higher Regional Court. There the decision was made in the sense of the district court: The punishment was legal. According to the Road Traffic Act (StVO), the use of such an app is not only prohibited for the driver, but other vehicle passengers are also not allowed to actively run such an app.
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According to a study, the most speed traps are in Hamburg, followed by Cologne and Berlin. The lowest control density is therefore in Magdeburg, Krefeld and Essen. Incidentally, there are also contemporaries who are not interested in speed limits or speed cameras: Some time ago, a driver was flashed three times in the same place within a few hours. And a man from Munich received a huge fine because he was actually flashed 85 times within a month.
