Is it illegal to photograph a police car accident?

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
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Sun 31 Mar 2019 18:19
Is it illegal to photograph a police car accident? - JohnX
Just this afternoon a police car involved in an emergency response lost control and went straight over a traffic light post flattening it underneath the car. Fortunately no one was injured.
I have a photograph of the incident taken from a nearby building and was about to post a thank you/appreciation post for the police on Social media appreciating the risk they put their life under in keeping the public safe.

However just before posting it on the local Facebook page I had a second thought.
Is this illegal and can this be deemed to be in contravention of any existing rules forbidding any pictures of an ongoing investigation/accident on social media?


Although the content of the post is purely to express gratitude and thanks to the police I wouldn’t want it to be taken in any other manner and to end up in trouble simply because of some admindroid!

Thoughts on this ?

(On an aside my next car would probably be a BMW-the car flattened the traffic light post,yet only very minimal damage to the car,atleast outwardly and the airbags didn’t deploy.
Typical Germanic strength ,doubt most Japanese cars would have fared as well.)
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Sun 31 Mar 2019 18:31
Is it illegal to photograph a police car accident? - jgrahampo

You are not telling the truth are you. The real desire for posting your photo is to be smug and tell the police " get it up ya".

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Sun 31 Mar 2019 18:48
Is it illegal to photograph a police car accident? - JohnX
Reasonable suspicion but I’m afraid utterly and totally mistaken assumption..
This is part of my post “

“Today I happened to see two very lucky police officers who while out on a chase rammed straight into a traffic light post fortunately flattening it right under the car(it is just visible under the car in this picture)
Fortunately if the post hadn’t been flattened,the consequences for the officers inside would potentially have been dire as it would then be equivalent to a head on collision at speed.

Let’s appreciate the hard work risking their life and limb that the coppers put themselves through while trying to keep the public safe“
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Sun 31 Mar 2019 19:05
Is it illegal to photograph a police car accident? - nortones2

Traffic light posts are designed to fail. The alternative would not be so good in a collision! So, Germanic strength idea is not the point. Particularly as modern vehicles are designed to yield, rather than transmit loads to the occupants.

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Sun 31 Mar 2019 20:31
Is it illegal to photograph a police car accident? - bathtub tom

I believe anyone can take any photo in a public place. Think about all the CCTV cameras that abound and any passing vehicles with dash-cams/helmet-cams that would have captured the scene.

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Sun 31 Mar 2019 22:05
Is it illegal to photograph a police car accident? - badbusdriver

I believe anyone can take any photo in a public place. Think about all the CCTV cameras that abound and any passing vehicles with dash-cams/helmet-cams that would have captured the scene.

Yes indeed, a very odd post from the OP. Given the amount of pictures of Police, or any other emergency service, after having been in an accident, appearing on social media, i think we'd have found out by now if the posters of these pics had subsequently been charged for doing so.

But the blissful ignorance of this comment does amuse me greatly,

Typical Germanic strength ,doubt most Japanese cars would have fared as well.

Yes, quite so!.

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Sun 31 Mar 2019 22:26
Is it illegal to photograph a police car accident? - misar

It may not be illegal but that is not always the crux of the matter.

If you encounter a policeman who has just written off his police car and stick a camera in his face he may be a trifle grumpy. And any grumpy policeman worth his badge can think of a hundred and one ways to make life difficult for you when he is in that frame of mind.

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Sun 31 Mar 2019 22:27
Is it illegal to photograph a police car accident? - Bromptonaut

Traffic light pillars, signposts etc are designed to collapse in a controlled way if hit by a vehicle. The technical term is frangible.

There's nothing illegal about photographing aftermath of an incident in UK and publishing it on social media. Just same as it's not illegal to photograph buildings or open spaces.

If you photograph or publish and are challenged seek further advice.

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Mon 1 Apr 2019 00:11
Is it illegal to photograph a police car accident? - Leif
I don’t know how common it is, but the police sometimes ask you not to film, or try and prevent you doing so. They have been done for assault, as you are allowed to film. However, facing up to a copper telling you you are committing an offence takes confidence. Best be discrete, why force confrontation?
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Mon 1 Apr 2019 00:25
Is it illegal to photograph a police car accident? - Andrew-T
Best be discrete, why force confrontation?

No, better to be discreet. But also be thankful that we don't live in Russia or similar places, where deploying a camera can have unfortunate consequences almost anywhere.

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Mon 1 Apr 2019 09:57
Is it illegal to photograph a police car accident? - CHarkin

Traffic light pillars, signposts etc are designed to collapse in a controlled way if hit by a vehicle. The technical term is frangible.

There is a natural weak point in these poles where the cable entry hole is cut, removing around 20-25% of the steel tube around 30cm below the surface. Concrete is only used below this hole.

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Mon 1 Apr 2019 15:21
Is it illegal to photograph a police car accident? - landmarked

>> Typical Germanic strength ,doubt most Japanese cars would have fared as well.)

Given that all cars sold in Europe are tested by the same agency against the same criteria, I would rather rely on facts than cliches, e.g.

https://www.euroncap.com/en/results/bmw/x5/34190

https://www.euroncap.com/en/results/mazda/cx-5/27704

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Mon 1 Apr 2019 16:19
Is it illegal to photograph a police car accident? - Brit_in_Germany

On the issue of legallity, people have been prosecuted for warning other drivers of a speed trap further up the road. Now, if you were to post photos of unmarked police cars on the web, would this be considered any differently? Not the case with the OP but you can imagine there would be circumstances where such publicity might be considered harmful to the general good.

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