Are video calls allowed while driving?
If you are caught driving with your cell phone to your ear, you do not need to expect a mild sentence. But if you make a call with a hands-free system, the situation is different. But what about video calls via Facetime, Whatsapp, Instagram and similar apps? In this guide, we clear up misunderstandings.
Phone on the ear: You have to reckon with these penalties
that you Don’t use your cellphone while driving should, you should already know. You take your eyes off the road and only have one hand left to steer when you hold the phone to your ear. It is only more dangerous to write an SMS while driving – the risk of having an accident increases enormously. That’s why the phone ban at the wheel is also in Section 23 of the Road Traffic Act (StVO) fixed.
We have broken down the penalties in the table below:
| Fact: cell phone used… | fine | Points in Flensburg | driving ban |
| …when wielding one motor vehicle |
€128.50 | 1 | |
| …with danger | €178.50 | 2 | 1 month |
| …with property damage/accident | €228.50 | 2 | 1 month |
It hits you particularly badly if you are still during the probationary period located. In addition to the penalties listed in the table, you will also be faced with an extension of the probationary period. Since the offense is considered an A sanction, the probationary period is increased from 2 to 4 years, and an advanced seminar is also ordered.
The same applies to everyone: When using your cell phone, you risk the Loss of your insurance coverage. If you are not sure whether and how your car insurance company will react in the event of gross negligence and the resulting damage to property, you should ask there. Or you just don’t take the risk (source: catalog of fines).
Telephoning with a hands-free system: an exception?
It is said that the smartphone has no place in the driver’s hands when the engine is running (even at traffic lights or in a parking lot) – unless you just put the phone somewhere else or hand it to your passenger. With a hands-free system So using the cell phone should be fine, right?
If you don’t actually operate the smartphone manually and traffic noise will not be suppressed, as is the case with headphones, for example making calls via the hands-free system is therefore permitted.
Video call in the car: is it allowed?
However, there are a few details you need to pay attention to. For example, you are not allowed to pick up the phone to answer or reject the call. For example, setting the navigation app and even checking the time is prohibited. This is because you don’t just look away for a moment. In order to use these functions, you must switch off the engine, using the stop-and-go function is not sufficient here.
The same justification also applies to video telephony. Because you’re looking away from the road for more than just a moment Facetime and Co. taboo at the wheel. The AG Magdeburg came to this decision on August 20, 2018 (source: ADAC).
You can read here in which countries this is also prohibited:
