george44

Hi guys, this is a question mostly for the lawyers on the forum (or for those who have a lawyer friend). Some of us have video cameras installed, mostly out of the car (can also be inside like for ex. a dash cam) that record the traffic in front of the car. If the police stops you and charges you with speeding, dangerous driving, stunting, you name it, can they seize these recording devices on the spot to use as a proof against you?

George

Nanook

Interesting question George as I equip all...well most of my vehicles...I would think they would need a warrant to seize..

StanThePorscheFan

I believe if your camera is recording public space, the police does have the right to that footage. You can probably refuse to surrender it and it can get lost while they get a warrant.

theiceman

That is a great question, next time I see a cop il ask him .. hopefully he is not at my drivers window handing me a yellow slip.

bmichael

Would it fall under the same category as the airbag black box which stores your driving data (speed, braking, etc.) in case of an accident?
So far I haven't heard of an insurance company using a warrant to gain access to that information and then denying a claim because you were doing 10k over. So far anyway.

Loess

That's a good question. I'd guess the police could seize any relevant evidence at the scene of a crime. They wouldn't need a warrant with this argument. After the fact it may be harder without a warrant. A phone may be more difficult for them to seize but they could also likely detain and arrest you at the scene if you were to refuse it.

911 Rod

Na. They'd just hand you the ticket and wish you a nice day.

wc11

this:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toront...ions-1.3952016

Loess

Videoing something with your phone as a bystander is different that stunt driving and getting pulled over. You could just destroy evidence if it wasn't seized. I wouldn't bank on your dash camera being protected.