Germany bans SAT NAV speed camera alerts
The German government has passed a bill that will outlaw all speed camera detection and warning systems
GERMANY has taken the bold (and slightly worrying) step of banning the use of any system that alerts the rider or driver of a vehicle to a fixed speed camera.
Both Garmin and TomTom have contacted their registered users by email alerting them to the news that speed camera detection systems are now banned in Germany.
The move is part of sweeping reform in Germany, and this change is just one in a long list of amendments the German Federal Council has adopted to the road traffic laws.
Germany has already for some time made it illegal to use specific speed camera detection systems, Snooper and Radar, and such like, although the new ruling makes it illegal to even use the built-in software that most major SAT NAV manufacturers use.
The hard to police change will mean that any motorists travelling through or to Germany on a motorcycle tour will need to manually disable the speed camera detection within the SAT NAV’s menus or risk a €75 fine!
Could Britain follow Germany with this kind of ruling?
While it’s clear the German government has used COVID-19’s media blitz to help pass the bill without too much resistance, it’s very tricky to say if this is something the UK government could adopt – despite leaving the EU.
When it comes to dreaming up new and profitable ways to milk every last penny from already over-taxed motorists, Germany is an old hand. Lets not forget, the first trails of acoustic cameras began in central Europe, it only took a few months for the pound signs to appear in the houses of power’s eyes and now there are full-blown UK trials of those.
Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
