German Courts Rule Phone Nav Units Illegal

Darren

This is sure to cause a stir. A German court has ruled that a navigation application running on a Smartphone cannot be used whilst driving.

Because the use of phones whilst driving is illegal, a court in Cologne has ruled that drivers using a satellite navigation system installed on a phone are infringing Section 23, Paragraph 1 of the German Highway Code.

The full text can be read here (in German) and here translated although you should be aware that Google's translator misinterprets the German for driving as 'tax' because the German for 'steering wheel' and 'tax' are the same.
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Darren Griffin

dandpclements · Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 5:47 pm Post subject:

It would interesting to see whether this applies to smartphones that can have the phone function disabled

Darren · Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 5:51 pm Post subject:

prague · Occasional Visitor Joined: Apr 01, 2008 Posts: 11

I wonder if it gets as much publicity as the French requirements re Fluorescent Jackets, i.e. Next to nothing. By the time an English tourist has driven through Germany and France they will be bankrupt! Of course it will soon be adopted here as part of the cash cow for motorists, making many systems redundant. I wonder if there was a consultation period in Germany?

Darren · Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 6:11 pm Post subject:

Why do they need a consultation period? All that has happened is a case has gone to appeal and the court has ruled that the legislation 'already in force' that prohibits the use of a mobile phone whilst driving extends to all use of that phone for whatever purpose.

I suspect (although I have no direct knowledge) that this has been done to remove the possibility of a driver claiming they were not making a call etc but were simply entering addresses etc into the phone. Now the law is clear, no use full stop if you are the driver. It may not prevent the device being on and providing guidance but may outlaw any interaction, doubtless all will become clear in due course!

As to the French requirement for Hi-Vis jackets to be carried, the onus at the end of the day is on the driver to acquaint themselves with the laws of the country they will be driving in and not vice versa.

What we should be asking is why sensible safety laws such as the common requirement to carry a warning triangle, spare bulbs and now hi-vis vests has not been mandated here as well? It should be.
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Darren Griffin

mikealder · Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 6:14 pm Post subject:

Can you try and get an official response from O2 Germany on this with respect to the HTC Diamond they are selling with the exclusive TomTom Navigator 7 software pre installed to the device, their reply might make interesting reading - Mike

gardenshed · Frequent Visitor Joined: Jul 05, 2007 Posts: 466

JimmyTheHand · Frequent Visitor Joined: Apr 16, 2005 Posts: 386

Darren · Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 8:31 pm Post subject:

That's a fair point. I have a front fog light that has blown and the bulb replacement is a bumper off dealer job!
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Darren Griffin

swing · Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 8:33 pm Post subject:

Can any German speaking people read the original article, and provide a better translation than Google...? I'm not sure if the court ruled that using SatNav on a mobile phone was illegal, or whether using SatNav on a *handheld* mobile phone was illegal; ie the illegal part refers to not having the phone in a holder, more than the use of SatNav software on the phone...
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Darren · Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 8:39 pm Post subject:

The tip off and correction of the Google translation came from our German born and bred US based editor. The law (now clarified by the courts) applies to the use of a phone 'whilst driving' and does not specify handheld or otherwise.
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Darren Griffin

Skippy · Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 8:54 pm Post subject:

Darren · Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 9:07 pm Post subject:

swing · Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 9:08 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the clarification Darren.
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DennisN · Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 9:30 pm Post subject:

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