Basil Posted May 28, 2018 Share Posted May 28, 2018 As dash Cams are illegal to use but not illegal to own in Luxembourg I can see that turning off the cam on entering Luxembourg is the way to go, but what do you do traversing or travelling in Austria where it is not only illegal to use but also illegal to own one? You have already been owning and using it all the way from the UK but what do you do with it to travel in Austria? Bas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wasnt Me Posted May 28, 2018 Share Posted May 28, 2018 Turn it off, remove it and hide it. Make sure you have no lights out. Surely you will be ok? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted May 29, 2018 Share Posted May 29, 2018 Basil - 2018-05-28 5:17 PM ...in Austria where it is not only illegal to use but also illegal to own one... There’s no doubt that - for several years - it has been illegal in Austria to use a dash-cam in a vehicle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dashcam but I’d be interested to know the source of your information that it is illegal in Austria for (say) a foreign tourist merely to own a dash-cam. Would that mean that I’d be infringing Austrian law if I flew to Austria with a dash-cam in my hand-luggage, stayed in a hotel there and left the dash-cam in the hotel’s safe during my stay? Or is there an Austrian law that just demands that a dash-cam must not be carried in a vehicle? I would have thought that Wasn’t Me’s advice was the obvious approach - make sure that there’s nothing to suggest that you might have a dash-cam in your vehicle. I can’t see the Austrian authorities searching every nook and cranny of a motorhome just in case there might be a dash-cam hidden somewhere, but if you are certain there’s an Austrian dash-cam ‘ownership’ law that has the potential to result in a massive fine, and you are not prepared to hide the dash-cam, you’d best leave the device at home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted May 29, 2018 Share Posted May 29, 2018 After reading this thread I looked online and found this. https://gb.snooper.eu/blog/can-i-use-my-dash-cam-in-europe/ So it seems a possible 10,000 fine for owning a dashcam! Getting to the details of someone transiting Austria and any fines is not so easy, a email to an authority in Austria might be in order, after all there are items which are legal in many EU countries, but if you bring them to UK could get you imprisoned, so on the face of it no reason why Austria wouldn't react the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted May 29, 2018 Share Posted May 29, 2018 Logically, “Own” must mean “Carry in the vehicle”. It’s illegal to drive in France with a radar detector in your vehicle (see 2008 thread here - and amusing posting from "magic torch") https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=10&t=613911 but obviously this law does not make it illegal for (say) a UK driver to acquire and own such a device. It just means that, if you have a radar detector and have it with you in your vehicle when you are driving in France, you’ll be breaking that French law. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peedee Posted May 29, 2018 Share Posted May 29, 2018 So what is the difference between poking a video camera out of the window to using a dash cam? I have just transited Austria using the Fern and old Brenner pass roads outward and the Passo di Monte Croce, the old Brenner Pass and the Fern Pass homeward and never gave a thought to removing mine because I had totally forgotten about any illegality. Nobody stopped me or said anything about it! peedee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted May 29, 2018 Author Share Posted May 29, 2018 I had kind off decided on the course of action suggested by 'Wasn't me' but wondered what others had done, or not! In answer to Derek's post one source of information was the Snooper site, but it is also repeated on numerous sites, including RAC, on the net. It is also of note that Portugal has the same 'Illegal to own' laws, didn't know that one either, and Germany also has 'technically' illegal to use laws! Not having traversed Austria for a number of years and intending to go to Croatia next week I was looking at requirements for Vignettes that found this popping up. With regards to the comments made re 'what's the difference to using a video camera', from what I have read there is no difference in Austria, except it is not illegal to own a video camera but it is illegal to use it. Thanks all for your comments Bas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted May 30, 2018 Share Posted May 30, 2018 Having looked at a number of relevant and trustworthy Austrian websites, the position there regarding dashcams seems to be that (for someone driving in Austria) it is neither illegal to ‘own’ a dashcam nor illegal to carry a dashcam in the vehicle being driven. However, it is generally illegal to drive in Austria using a dashcam for its design objective of storing continuous video images of public roads. It is not illegal in Austria to use a video camera in a vehicle provided that the usage is for ‘private’ purposes. So a passenger in a vehicle could legally use a video camera to record the surrounding Austrian countryside during a holiday there for future reference when back home. It’s suggested on an Austrian legal website that a dashcam might similarly be used legally for ‘private’ video recording. If there’s no visible evidence in a motorhome’s cab-area of a dashcam being present in the vehicle, and the dashcam is stored in the motorhome well away from the cab-area (eg. in a rear garage or beneath a bed) where it would be fanciful to suggest the device could rapidly be brought into use while the motorhome is being driven, there should be no risk of coming into conflict with Austrian law. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archiesgrandad Posted May 30, 2018 Share Posted May 30, 2018 Isn't there a bit somewhere that says that if your vehicle is fitted with bits that are legal in the country of registration then there is no offence in the EU? AGD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted May 30, 2018 Share Posted May 30, 2018 Well I've received a reply from the Austrian tourist office which seems totally at odds with the info on Snoopers website. Investigation still ongoing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 Archiesgrandad - 2018-05-30 6:42 PM Isn't there a bit somewhere that says that if your vehicle is fitted with bits that are legal in the country of registration then there is no offence in the EU? AGD You are probably thinking about the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vienna_Convention_on_Road_Traffic that has tended to be cited as giving a UK motorcaravanner towing a car on an A-frame the right to do this in countries (like Spain) that have a national law forbidding one motor vehicle towing another. A guidance document showing ‘compulsory items’ that need to be carried when driving in Europe can be downloaded from this AA webpage https://www.theaa.com/european-breakdown-cover/driving-in-europe/what-do-i-need That document will show that many countries insist that, while being driven there, a vehicle must legally carry certain items that do not need to be carried in the UK. The following caveat is given "Many countries now stipulate that GPS based navigation systems which have maps indicating the location of fixed speed cameras must have the ‘fixed speed camera PoI (Point of interest)’ function deactivated, please check individual touring tips. Dashboard cams are prohibited in Austria and Portugal.” Having looked at Austrian websites that discuss dashcams, Austrian national law dealing with protection of public privacy (eg their regulations regarding use of domestic exrterior security cameras) evidently conflicts with the basic objective of using a dashcam in a vehicle. It seems to be recognised there that vehicle dashcams can have a useful purpose and that the manner in which Austrian law relates to them is not ideal, but it’s believed that there is little chance of the Austrian ‘no dashcams’ law being relaxed in the foreseeable future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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