Take-Aways (AI)
- The Zug High Court ruled that dashcam recordings may be permissible under data protection law after weighing up the interests involved.
- Dashcam evidence was admissible, as the complainant was entitled to preserve evidence.
- This was triggered by considerable tailgating by the defendant, which created a concrete risk of rear-end collisions.
- The interest in preserving evidence outweighed the personal rights of the accused; the crossing of the double safety line is deemed to have been proven.
The Zug Superior Court has – already on May 11, 2017 – ruled (Decision of May 11, 2017, GVP 2017, 195) that the use of a dashcam can be permissible under data protection law based on a balancing of interests and that evidence obtained accordingly can be usable:
[…] in the present case, it is crucial to add that the complainant entitled to preserve evidence had been the dashcam, after the defendant had harassed him with his Porsche in such a wayThe defendant was not allowed to start or run the car. In agreement with the lower court, no illegality is to be recognized in this, especially since the defendant created the danger of a rear-end collision with his driving behavior, which could have had serious consequences in view of the high speeds (in agreement apparently with the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner, according to which the understandable interest in having pictures available as evidence in the event of accidents does not constitute an interest that outweighs the protection of personality; cf. OG GD 5/11 p. 2 [Note: cf. here]). In other words has the recording of the crossing of the double safety line is given a cause reference by the first clearly more weighty violationTherefore, contrary to the opinion of the defendant, there is no unlawful violation of personality rights and thus no prohibition of the use of evidence. Under the given circumstances, the interest of the complainant in operating or running the dashcam to preserve evidence was to be rated higher than that of the defendant in moving unobserved and uncontrolled in road traffic. Thus, the crossing of the double safety line is proven (doubly, so to speak).