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The question whether dashcams are legal or not pops up on our facebook group regularly and our answer has always been that it is legal from a Traffic Law point of view (as long as it does not interfere with a driver´s full view of the road and he or she does not fiddle with it while driving) but that it could be viewed differently with regards to the ´Data Protection Law´and the Citizens Security Law (´gag´ law). The latter with regards to filming police officers in the line of duty. And that in our opinion, most uses of dashcams would clash with what is allowed under the DPL.
As is the case with many questions asked on our group, members would post the same questio on other groups and would then come back to us with answers they received there, often contradicting ours. What they did not take into consideration that those who answered there, would not take into account other aspects but just the law in their area of expertise. CAB Spain advisers always research all applicable laws and post our findings accordingly.
Only this week the DGT/Trafico has addressed this issue in their online magazine and we would like to share the heading they published yesterday.
Una camera montada en el salpicadera. Es legal?
No, llevar una cámara en el salpicadero de tu vehículo no está prohibido. Pero sí lo está manipularla mientras conduces, al igual que manipular el móvil u otros dispositivos, y por lo tanto es sancionable. Además su uso en España está condicionado por la Ley de Protección de Datos.
Is it legal to mount a videocamera on your windscreen?
No, mounting a videocamera on your windscreen is not prohibited. But it is when you manipulate it while driving, like using your mobile phone or any other device and thus subject to fines. Moreover its use in Spain is subject to the Data Protection Law.
The article goes onto mention several examples that we would like to share. They illustrate the complexity of the issue.
Iñaki Pariente, a specialist consultant re data protection (DPL)is quoted saying that under a traditional interpretation of the DPL, when a dash-cam is used to film the public road, this would only fall under the exemption the DPL provides if, the filmed images would only be for ´domestic use´ and of limited nature. Using them as evidence in a court of law or in an insurance case would not fall under this category, and would thus not be considered legal. This according to a statement from the Basque Data Protection Agency. They also stated that there is an organic law in place that limits the authority to film public places belonging to the State´s Armed Forces. Although a private individual cannot be denied his or her right to film ´domestic´ images on the public road, the continued filming of traffic is not considered to be of that nature but of ´vigilance´ and is thus deemed illegal for a private individual.
The Spanish Data Protection Agency is not that strict in its interpretation and recognises that in some circumstances the interest of the filming party to prove the details of a traffic infraction could prevail over the interest of the other party to protect their privacy under the DPL but acknowledges that only a judge can rule on each individual case.
They also indicate that there are several limitations associated with the legality of the filmed images. For example, the filming should only start when an incident occurs. Continued filming would not be considered legal. Licence plates of vehicles not involved in the traffic incident filmed, should be diffused. Uploading the images to social media without diffusing private identification data is illegal.
Iñaki Pariente stresses that the principle of proportionality is another important factor. It´s not quite the same if the filmed images are limited to what is happening right before the vehicle, or are much wider angled and include houses and people. Neither is filming continuously compared to only filming certain stretches of road.
Although he issue of legality is complicated, the ever increasing technological possibilities could improve road safety. Insurance companies are of course a very interested party with relevance to the solving of cases where it is difficult to identify the offending party without visual proof. However, they have not gone so far as to promote the use of dash-cams by offering a premium discount to those that have one installed in their vehicle. They say the issue of data protection and the impossibility to manipulate images filmed with a dashcam must be investigated further.
DGT/Trafico recognises that the issue of the use of dashcams is ´on the table´, that they are studying the relevant rulings from the Spanish courts, are in preliminary contact with their European counterparts to exchange experiences, but that the lack of specific studies prevents them from taking an official or definite standpoint.
Something to be aware of when travelling is the stance of the relevant authorities in other EU countries. According to DGT/Trafico many countries share the Spanish stance. But in Austria for example, dashcams are prohibited by law and if you do decide to install one fines can be very high. In Switzerland they are not prohibited, but their use is discouraged. In Germany you are allowed to mount one, but it is highly unlikely that any images will be admitted as evidence in a court of law. In Luxembourg, even though in theory it is not illegal to own or mount one, their use on the public road is totally prohibited.
