Legal trouble from posting this video to youtube?
August 8, 2013 9:17 PM Subscribe
Speaking purely hypothetically, of course--imagine you took a scenic drive. You had a camera take a time-lapse of part of the journey. You stitch it together into a video, and want to post it on youtube. Let's also say that the visible speedometer sometimes displays speeds which are not, um, congruent to the legal speed limits.
If the driver of the vehicle could be identified, could any legal issues fall their way? I understand this is fairly unlikely, but I'm curious if speeding is a crime which could be charged "after the fact".
If the driver of the vehicle could be identified, could any legal issues fall their way? I understand this is fairly unlikely, but I'm curious if speeding is a crime which could be charged "after the fact".
In jurisdictions where I practice, the answer to your hypothetical question is yes. But keep in mind that you're packing a big, open word ("could") into a relatively narrow question ("Could a charge be filed?") based on not much detail.
posted by cribcage at 9:37 PM on August 8, 2013
posted by cribcage at 9:37 PM on August 8, 2013
yeah this happened up here on Vancouver Island last year (they eventually caught the guy).
posted by mannequito at 1:05 AM on August 9, 2013
posted by mannequito at 1:05 AM on August 9, 2013
Response by poster: Which is why my question is hypothetical! Merely seeking background for a short story I'm writing.
I guess my story's character should display some smarts and not post the video--which he was going to do for friends to enjoy, and not for any sort of youtube famery or whatever.
(The hypothetical speeds involved on occasion were not even a fraction of the Vancouver Island speeds above, more akin to what might happen on a pleasure drive where more attention is paid to the "this feels right for these empty roads speed" rather than the posted speed limit. But, still, said speeds would not be considered an insignificant amount over the posted limit, in my imagination.)
Many thanks for the insight, folks.
posted by maxwelton at 2:46 AM on August 9, 2013
I guess my story's character should display some smarts and not post the video--which he was going to do for friends to enjoy, and not for any sort of youtube famery or whatever.
(The hypothetical speeds involved on occasion were not even a fraction of the Vancouver Island speeds above, more akin to what might happen on a pleasure drive where more attention is paid to the "this feels right for these empty roads speed" rather than the posted speed limit. But, still, said speeds would not be considered an insignificant amount over the posted limit, in my imagination.)
Many thanks for the insight, folks.
posted by maxwelton at 2:46 AM on August 9, 2013
I guess my story's character should display some smarts and not post the video--which he was going to do for friends to enjoy, and not for any sort of youtube famery or whatever.
Or the character could edit out that bit of the frame in those clips, no? I'm assuming that if your character knows how to edit clips together, he also knows how to crop out things.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:25 AM on August 9, 2013
Or the character could edit out that bit of the frame in those clips, no? I'm assuming that if your character knows how to edit clips together, he also knows how to crop out things.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:25 AM on August 9, 2013
I guess my story's character should display some smarts and not post the video
That's the simplest option. Or your character could be posting an older video, having let sufficient time pass for the statute of limitations to expire. Or you could set up evidentiary issues: maybe it could be unclear from the video and description exactly who was driving or where the incident(s) took place.
Unless the evidence is silver-plattered on the YouTube page ("My name is ____, and I took this video of me driving through ____ yesterday!"), or unless your character was driving three-digit speeds, I suspect most readers would find it implausible that police would find this video in the YouTube sea, take note of the speedometer, and do the legwork to prosecute. But maybe the character has an archenemy with police connections?
posted by cribcage at 8:51 AM on August 9, 2013
That's the simplest option. Or your character could be posting an older video, having let sufficient time pass for the statute of limitations to expire. Or you could set up evidentiary issues: maybe it could be unclear from the video and description exactly who was driving or where the incident(s) took place.
Unless the evidence is silver-plattered on the YouTube page ("My name is ____, and I took this video of me driving through ____ yesterday!"), or unless your character was driving three-digit speeds, I suspect most readers would find it implausible that police would find this video in the YouTube sea, take note of the speedometer, and do the legwork to prosecute. But maybe the character has an archenemy with police connections?
posted by cribcage at 8:51 AM on August 9, 2013
Perhaps the video would show the number, but not whether it's miles or kilometers per hour.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 12:25 PM on August 9, 2013
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 12:25 PM on August 9, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by ODiV at 9:23 PM on August 8, 2013