Is standing on a sidewalk with a sign that says &quot;Slow down, Speed trap ahead&quot; illegal?
<p>Police set up a speed trap on a busy intersection. Bob decides to create a sign that says &quot;Slow down, Speed trap ahead&quot; and get way ahead of the speed trap to slow people down. He is slowly walking up the sidewalk. Is Bob breaking the law?</p>

<p>I believe there are courts that have affirmed convictions for obstructing official business or something along those lines, but the general consensus seems to be that conduct like this is not a crime, or that it cannot be criminalized without violating the First Amendment.</p>
<p>The most recent decision on point came just a few weeks ago. In <a href="https://casetext.com/case/friend-v-gasparino" rel="noreferrer"><em>Friend v. Gasparino</em>, No. 20-3644 (2d Cir. Feb. 27, 2023)</a>, a man sued police for arresting him because he had set up a sign saying &quot;Cops Ahead&quot; two blocks away from where they were running an operation to enforce distracted-driving laws. The trial court dismissed the case, holding (1) that the sign was not protected by the First Amendment because it was &quot;of little, if any, public concern&quot;; and (2) that even if it was protected, the officer's conduct in arresting him satisfied strict scrutiny because if police wanted to prevent distracted driving, there was no less restrictive alternative to arresting the plaintiff.</p>
<p>But the Second Circuit reversed, holding (1) that speech remains protected even if it is not a matter of public concern; and (2) that there was no evidence that limiting the plaintiff's speech was <em>necessary</em> to permit the state to write citations and enforce the law, even if it would have been helpful.</p>

<p><a href="/questions/tagged/switzerland" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;switzerland&#39;" aria-label="show questions tagged &#39;switzerland&#39;" rel="tag" aria-labelledby="tag-switzerland-tooltip-container">switzerland</a></p>
<p>Most likely, Bob is breaking the law. In Switzerland, the use of radar detection devices is illegal, as is the public distribution of information about speed cameras. This includes creating public groups on social media platforms such as WhatsApp or Facebook to warn speeders of these traps. So I'm assuming putting up a sign that warns people is illegal, too.</p>
<p>In Switzerland, the possible sentences for speeding can be very high, up to several years in jail. The possible sentences for warning about speed traps are <a href="https://www.bussgeldrechner.org/radarwarner-schweiz.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">equally high</a> (but of course, the sentence will depend on the reach of one's announcement, so Bob is probably just given a fine, as opposed to when he would be distributing his information on some broadcast channel).</p>

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