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by fightlikeacow 4580 days ago
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.
2 comments

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 :/