No detectors, databases or other devices to warn you of the presence of speed traps are illegal in the UK – thankfully.
Quite obviously the illegality in some countries is a reaction to potential revenue reduction, which shows why it’s a bad idea to let the police make the rules.
One could link this back to a discussion we did before, where in some countries a policeman is your ‘boss’ and in others he is there to serve you.
In Switzerland the use of one of those devices can land you with confiscation and, at extremis, in prison.
Rather odd, all the time the reason behind speed limits in the first place is to reduce accidents or the severity of accidents. Those devices and apps only warn you of not speeding at certain places where it also will cost you money to do so. Money talks obviously 
In Norway all these boxes are warned up front with separate signs saying during the next kilometers a speeding box is present.
What is more dubious IMO is what happened to me 2-3 years ago. We were driving to a family party, nice weather, nice road. Then a black “aggressive” looking (toned windows) civilian BMW were in front of me, which I passed without thinking anything more that how odd to drive a BMW looking like that and driving like an old grandmother. The next minute I saw the blue lights in the rear view mirrors and was pulled over by that “grandmother” and got a speed ticket
LeSving wrote:
Rather odd, all the time the reason behind speed limits in the first place is to reduce accidents or the severity of accidents. Those devices and apps only warn you of not speeding at certain places where it also will cost you money to do so.
C’ mon – you know better than that. Those boxes do not make people to drive slower but rather to drive faster at all places where you are pretty sure that there is no radar.
And that is exactly the differentiator in Germany: Satnavs or apps that show you the current speed limit and perhaps even bing if you exceed it are perfectly fine. Banned are only the boxes that show you the cameras.
Malibuflyer wrote:
C’ mon – you know better than that. Those boxes do not make people to drive slower but rather to drive faster at all places where you are pretty sure that there is no radar.And that is exactly the differentiator in Germany: Satnavs or apps that show you the current speed limit and perhaps even bing if you exceed it are perfectly fine. Banned are only the boxes that show you the cameras.
Different countries may have different approaches. As LeSving noted, there are signs posted shortly before speed cameras in Norway and in Sweden as well. The authorities want you to know where the cameras are.
The only exception is when the police put up temporary speed cameras, but these would not – for obvious reasons – be in a database anyway
Emir wrote:
So if I drive my Volvo with built-in satnav which has database of fixed cameras to Switzerland, I’m facing the possibility that my car will be confiscated or that my built-in satnav will be somehow destroyed?
I’d say you face the real possibility of a massive fine. I doubt that they would destroy your sat nav. However, most manufacturers these days know that camera POI’s are illegal in Switzerland and therefore don’t include them.
It’s always a question of implementation by the police. I’ve heard of many people who got fined, particularly in the initial period after the laws were passed (which was the time of Garmin and Navion devices, not smartphones). My then boss got caught with his new Navigon device which had the waypoints but not activated and it was confiscated but later returned with a new database without them (by Garmin, so the police apparently sent the device to them). Note that the rule very much applies to importers too, so importing a device like this will cause them to have problems. Hence, most navigation system providers have killed those databases.
And while the law sais that also devices which show POI’s only outside Switzerland are forbidden as well, I’ve never heard from anyone being prosecuted for having them.
So while I suppose that the soup has cooled down a bit, it is definitly worth checking your navigation system if it has offending data and if so, get rid of that data.
I only use google maps on my smartphone and so far I have never seen it to have those POI’s. I personally know where most cams are in my region and Google maps does not display them, so it is legal to use.
Graham wrote:
which shows why it’s a bad idea to let the police make the rules.
In our case those rules were not “made by the police” but by the government, under the lead of a socialist transport minister who thought up a whole framework of laws labled “via secura”, of which this is a part. There is a lot more in it, most of which reflected his hatred for personal transportation. For this guy, anything not moving on rails was unwanted.
This thing is only a small part of it. Others include recurring exams and medicals for senior citizens over 70, prison sentences and confiscation of cars for speeding, exploding fine rates and a 3 year probation period for youngsters who get their drivers license, during which it can be taken away if you step out of line by a small toe.
He is also the same guy who was responsible for the crash of the Crossair RJ100 which crashed on a VOR approach in a snowstorm in Zurich because he forbid the use of the ILS’s available there in order to “appease” the Germans, but actually because he also hated aviation.
Mooney_Driver wrote:
Others include recurring exams and medicals for senior citizens over 70
Sounds eminently sensible.
he forbid the use of the ILS’s available there in order to “appease” the Germans
What does that mean!?
Sounds eminently sensible.
not in the way it is implemented which at the time was totally arbitrary and basically a frontal attack against all old drivers.
What does that mean!?
Too much off topic to include here in detail, I think this accident has been previously discussed here. A Crossair RJ100 crashed on approach in a snow storm after busting minimas of an approach which was ill conceived and intended for other purposes, but was pressured into use by the said minister because of negotiations with Germany over the ILSapproaches leading over German territory. However, the prohibition to use the ILS approaches at the time was not only unnecessary but a big risk, which promptly caused a crash and quite a few lucky escapes before it.
If you want more details, feel free to PM me.
Apart, the very same guy also actively helped the demise of Swissair.
Is Scotland the only country with Average Speed Camera systems? It calculates your average speed over a long stretch of road.
England has plenty over long sections of roadworks. I don’t recall seeing fixed installations.
