German court allows use of dashcam images to obtain compensation

The German Bundesgerichtshof has ruled on appeal that images recorded with a dashcam may be used as evidence in civil cases in which a road user tries to recover his damage after a collision.

The German court reiterates the prevailing view that submitted video recordings from a dashcam are in principle inadmissible, because this violates the strict German right to protection of privacy. However, this prohibition to use dashcam images does not automatically apply in liability cases.

The court finds that the interest for the claimant to be able to provide evidence also weighs heavily and that judges, in balancing the interests between privacy and the ability of the victim to stand up for their rights, should be allowed to hear the case. judged on the basis of the circumstances of the case.

This means that there is no categorical ban on the use of dashcam images in civil cases. For criminal cases, where the images can be passed on to the police, for example, so that it can be determined who is responsible for, for example, a crime, the prohibition still applies. In that context, a motorist was fined by a German judge in October 2017, because she had recorded quite a lot of the environment with dashcam images.

In the current case, two vehicles collided side-by-side while driving on two parallel exits to the left. There was disagreement as to who had deviated from his orbit and was responsible for the collision. The plaintiff had a dashcam and claimed damages. This requirement was rejected due to privacy rules. The plaintiff appealed and ended up with the Bundesgerichtshof, which has now referred the case back to the lower court.

The Bundesgerichtshof does not just approve all dashcam images for use in civil cases. For example, it may not be a permanent, continuous record of all events on and along the traffic route. According to the court, this is disproportionate and not necessary for the interest of obtaining evidence. According to the court, it is technically possible to set the dashcam in such a way that a shorter recording is made and that it is only saved in the event of a collision or if the car brakes hard.