Speed ​​camera warner – with these tricks you can use them legally

Whether smartphone app, navigation device or integrated systems in modern vehicles: there are many tools to find out where speed camera is. But can drivers use these options? What applies to passengers? And what about data protection or trips abroad? The rules are not always clear and the law draws limits.

Anyone who uses speed camera warners during the trip to go off the gas in good time in front of radios stalls violates the regulations. But not every device is the same and the role of the passenger also plays a role. There are also new technologies and possible changes in the law that drivers should keep an eye on. First of all: if you keep the speed limit, you don’t need a warner. If you think you need a speed camera warning, you should question your driving style. An example: Tempo 30 in front of kindergartens, schools or old people’s homes makes sense. Such limits should always be kept and not just brake because you fear control.

The most expensive and most precise method are radar warning that actively absorb measuring signals from speedmight. They only raise the alarm when a device is active and also recognize signals in unusual places. However, a radar warning is a separate device that has to be bought and has to be installed depending on the type. But above all: these devices are prohibited in Germany. You can interfere with police measurements. Anyone who uses them or carries them so that they could be activated while driving risks a fine of 75 euros, a point in Flensburg and the confiscation of the device. The owner is not returned, mostly it is destroyed. Repeated violations can have higher penalties or further consequences.

Apps or navigation devices that display speed cameras are used more often. The difference to radar warners: These systems do not recognize speed camera themselves, but indicate known locations, often updated by user messages to mobile flashes. Inpatient speed cameras are almost completely recorded. Motions can sometimes be outdated for mobile speeds, since speed cameras are moved at short notice. Some cars have integrated such warnings, for example through software updates-but their use while driving is also prohibited.

The devices and apps are legal, but their use on the street is not. Anyone who gets caught pays 75 euros in fine, receives a point and, in exceptional cases, risk the confiscation of the device, whereby smartphones are rarely moved in due to their versatility. If it does, it can be annoying because the smartphone often contains digital life. The trick of having the Warner served by the passenger also failed. Documents may not use speed camera apps, as the Karlsruhe Higher Regional Court clarified (AZ 2 ORBS 35 SS 9/23). However, it is permitted to find out on the track in front of the journey or in a parking space about speed camera. That is legal and safe.

Many free apps collect location data that are often used for advertising or passed on to third parties, which causes data protection concerns. You should therefore find out about the data protection guidelines before use. If you travel abroad, you have to consider the rules there: In countries such as Switzerland or France, speed camera apps are often completely prohibited and violations can be expensive. There were no major changes in the law in Germany, but the discussion about integrated systems in cars could influence the rules in the future.

Tempolimitic ads in navigation devices are legal and help to adhere to the speed. However, incorrect information does not excess. The legislator has a hard time with apps: a real radar warning can be noticed during a check, possibly even appropriate. A smartphone app or a function in the navigation device, on the other hand, is so inconspicuous that it is hardly discovered. And even if so, the use would have to be proven while driving.