Legality
Safedrive is a legal product and a legal service. The service disseminates publicly available information and falls under the freedom of expression enshrined in the Norwegian Constitution. We guarantee that use of Safedrive is not a criminal offense.
The legality of Safedrive follows the act relating to road traffic (The Road Traffic Act) section 13 a on the prohibition of warning devices etc. in motor vehicles, its preparatory work, legislative commentary and assessments from the Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Transport.
Section 13 a of the Road Traffic Act reads:
"In a motor vehicle, it is prohibited to possess or use equipment that is intended to warn of or interfere with traffic controls. The prohibition includes equipment that blocks, receives or sends signals from or to equipment for control and monitoring of traffic. The Ministry may issue regulations with detailed provisions to clarify and complement the prohibition in the first paragraph."
On February 16, 2001, the Ministry of Transport and Communications proposed in Proposition no. 40 (2000-2001) a new section 13 a in the Road Traffic Act, prohibiting equipment that can warn of or interfere with traffic controls.
In the consultation letter's proposal, the new statutory provision was limited to equipment that is used in a more indirect way to alert traffic controls, such as via the internet and mobile phones.
The delimitation was justified by the fact that it was legally problematic to impose a ban on disseminating publicly available information, in addition to the fact that it would be challenging to delineate which types of indirect warnings should be prohibited. This aligns with the legislative commentary from 2016:
"The provision in vtrl. § Section 13 a does not affect indirect notification, such as notifications via mobile phone or via the Internet."
Following the launch of Safedrive, the authorities have reconsidered a proposal to ban devices that alert traffic controls. On January 11, 2018, the Ministry of Justice and Public Security decided, in agreement with the National Police Directorate, that this was not relevant.
Sources:
Ministry of Transport's statement, 15.01.2018
Ministry of Justice's statement, 11.01.2018
Ministry of Justice's assessment, 22.04.2010
Road Traffic Act (Road Traffic Act) § 13 a
Preamble to the Road Traffic Act section 13 a, chapter 3.3
