Friday, July 3, 2020

Another Law Update

One of the other little things that got passed via the Bundestag yesterday....has to do with images you take at accident scenes.  This is the one that you probably need to memorize and write down on your hand.

N-TV does a good job of explaining the basic story.

Over the past decade, between digital capability, smartphones, and social media....Germans took to taking pictures of car accidents or serious injury situations (like some kid riding his bike into a brick wall). 

The general perception was....you should NOT show situations like this, and ethically, it was just wrong.  Various states wrote laws, but the federal deal was drastically changed yesterday.

So the new interpretation is that it's not just accidents....it's up-the-skirts pictures as well.  The legal trouble?  Two years is the max, but judges can put you into prison.

Does it matter if you shot the image of a car accident from the field across from the accident?  No....the intent of the law is still the same.  No one says how rough the court might act with this....my guess is that they don't want to clog up the system, but 30 to 60 days of jail might be the general outcome in situations like this.

My advice....keep your handy situation in your mind, and just don't take any pictures of any accident unless it's to identify damage to your car or the other guy's vehicle.  If you have kids (while living in Germany)....instruct them on the same issue and make sure they understand the serious nature of this now. 

No comments: