OLG Karlsruhe: Tesla touchscreen is to be treated like a cell phone - and use punished accordingly

2. December 2020 Traffic law / OWi No Comments

OLG Karlsruhe: Tesla touchscreen is to be treated like a cell phone – and use punished accordingly

As feared shortly after the introduction of the new “cell phone law,” the extension to the use of electronic devices of any kind is spreading.

For example, the use of the permanently installed touchscreen in a Tesla proved fatal for its driver. It should be noted that the vehicles of the company. Tesla, the touchscreen is the central control element for any vehicle function and you are inevitably forced to use it.

The decision presented here was based on the fact that the driver wanted to set the interval switching of the windshield wiper – i.e. a safety-relevant function in heavy rain – and was ultimately penalized for doing so, as with the use of a cell phone. As a consequence, this view means that a Tesla driver would have to “pull over” and turn off the vehicle completely to set the windshield wiper interval, which illustrates the absurdity of this regulation.

You can read the full text of the decision here: OLG Karlsruhe, decision of 27.03.2020, Az. 1 Rb 36 Ss 832/19.