This is just misleading.

You do not go to jail in the EU for adding under-floor lighting to your car, nor fitting a roof rack, or any other such additional fittings. A car must pass it's MOT and have valid insurance, that is all. MOT requirements differ from country to county, and all insurers are different. If it fails and you keep driving it then you'll end up with a fine.

Well, you'll not go to jail, but underfloor lighting is strictly speaking illegal in germany and only allowed for show cars - and even then it has to be off on the road. (StVZO §49a Absatz 1)

Violating that rule invalidates the permission to drive that car on a public road, immediately voiding insurance coverage. You'd better not have an accident with that car, because you're personally liable for any damage caused. That might not bring you to jail, but can seriously ruin your life if you cause a permanent injury to someone else.

Yes, specific requirements differ from country to country, and invalidating your insurance and crashing your car anywhere in the world has that effect.

Point is that you won't 'go to jail in the entire EU', or anything of the sort for simply driving car with an unusual load on the roof rack.

Oh, cops certainly do have the right to tow your vehicle and take you to the next police office, where you spend maybe 2-3 hours of processing. I can tell you, it's a boatload of bureaucracy and they won't let you out until it's all done.

They can also impound your vehicle, depending on the modifications and their mood. I used to ride heavily modded motorcycles - all the entries would need a second sheet in the papers. That was always great fun to see the traffic patrol compare serial numbers for air intake, exhaust, lights, indicaters, ... especially when it was wet and they had to crawl on the ground.

Hahaha :D One beer on me, my friend.

That has nothing to do with going to jail, nor the EU.

A whole load of both public and private organisations have the right to tow your vehicle for many, many things, like simply parking in the wrong place, and you have to do the paperwork.

At this point you're essentially just arguing that if you break you countries local laws you have to deal with the police... mmm.

Mounting something on the roof rack doesn't count as modifying in that way. If that was true, bicycle racks would be illegal.

I can't speak for the entirety of the EU, but I know for a fact that in the UK mounting something like this (assuming it's securely attached) is not illegal.

According to the AA the rule in the UK is as simple as "you must secure your load and it must not stick out dangerously".

http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/loading-your-car-safely...

I got fucked up by the cops in Germany for putting a not-checked-by-TÜV selfmade wood casing upon the top of my car. These guys did this in Berlin... man, they're LUCKY to having gotten out without any consequences.

The law may well differ across member states. Apparently there isn't a definitive law on the matter in the UK, but you could be prosecuted if your roof load is deemed to be dangerous or is excessively heavy or overhangs the car. There definitely isn't explicit rules that require roof loads to be checked or qualified in any way.

It's all moot though as they did it in Germany...

Was there a Google logo on the side of your car?

Haha, nope - but I bet Google did shell the ~300€ on proper certification and registration in the vehicle ID card.

If that were the case, how would people ever transport anything on a roof rack? That is effectively all the project is doing (somewhat pointlessly in my opinion, but each to their own). That's not to say that they won't get stopped for some kind of lack of photography permit, but not for any of the reasons you have outlined.

The fake camera rig is mounted using bolts in holes drilled in the (rented) car's roof rack. That's not how you typically mount stuff to a roof rack, perhaps it can make it more "part of the vehicle" than "cargo" in the eyes of the law; I don't know.

I failed to see the point of the project altogether, and found it rather rude to drill in rented equipment, too. I'm sensitive like that.

Why do you assume the roof rack is part of the rented car? You can just buy a rack and put it on the rented car.

That's true, of course. And they do list the rack in the list of materials.

I mis-interpreted "If the car doesn’t come with one, rent or buy the specific roof-rack for that car", which still mentions renting the rack as a solution, of course, even if it seems they actually didn't rent the rack they used.

Ever noticed the "Ex" in a circle mark on any car component, x being a number? This is a signature that this product has been tested and approved for automobile usage. If your selfmade product does not have this (of course it doesn't), then you need to go to a local TÜV agency in Germany and let them have a look over it. If it's ok you'll get a permit for it.

Else, it's illegal to drive with your construction on the road.

That may be the case in Germany, but in the UK, unless something is obviously unsafe, I don't think this would be the case. For reference, a certain culture of ridiculous body kits and spoilers would be in a lot more trouble, as I'm pretty sure that most of them do not undergo any testing, and that doesn't account for "home-made" versions.

The car component needs to be approved, the cargo does not. The bike rack needs to be approved, the bike does not. GP is trying to pass this contraption as cargo, though I doubt it would be accepted as such.

Yep. I learned the hard way :/