As soon as Black Week has started, the prices on Amazon are tumbling: The speed camera detector Ooono CO-Driver NO1 is on sale today. But is the device legal in traffic? We’ll tell you.
It’s faster than you think: the speed limit has barely been exceeded when lightning flashes on the side of the road. And only a short time later, the fine notice tumbles into the house. And it often has it all: after the reform of the catalog of fines, significantly higher penalties have been threatened since November 2021. For example, if you are 16 to 20 kilometers too fast in town and are flashed, you have to pay 70 euros (instead of 35 euros before). So it’s hardly surprising why so-called speed camera alerts are enjoying increasing popularity – like the one Co-Driver No1 by Ooonowhich is now 20 percent cheaper.
According to the manufacturer, the device should not only warn of speed cameras, but also of danger spots that are Blitzer.de and are listed in the Ooono Community. In addition, it has the following properties:
- It can be easily fixed inside the vehicle.
- The Co-Driver No1 warns acoustically and visually of speed cameras.
- The device is powered by a button battery.
In other words, it is not a warning device with built-in GPS that acts independently, but a loudspeaker that connects to the smartphone via Bluetooth and synchronizes with the Blitzer.de app. One advantage of this is that the Ooono does not have to be activated before each trip, but turns itself on automatically. This way you don’t run the risk of oversleeping the switch-on.
Are speed camera warnings legal in Germany?
In fact it is that Speed camera warning devices are banned in Germany. Although purchase and possession is permitted, the devices may not be operated while driving. In other words, anyone who is checked by the police faces a fine of 75 euros. The same also applies if you “only” use the app. The situation is different with the warning of dangerous spots (e.g. traffic jams) while driving: that is permissible. For this reason, you can use the Ooono Connect app to decide for yourself what the device should warn you about, how long the lead time is and whether the device can be noticed acoustically and/or visually. So the fact is: the device is not forbidden in the car itself, but switching on the speed camera warnings is at your own risk.
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