Carry ID with you at all times

[TBear]

It might not be practical to carry your ID with you all the time, simply because the only form of official ID a foreigner has in Munich is his/her passport, which you can't risk losing.  Apparently a driving license is not a valid form of ID, which I find strange. 
Yet I have heard that the police can demand to see it at any time and it is the law here to carry official ID with you at all times.  By not carrying our passports are we breaking the law?
So how do we get round this dilema?

[TalkMunichAdmin]

I think there are two ways to approach this.  What is the law and what is the way the law is implemented.  I have heard conflicting stories about the law on needing to carry your passport.  Someone told me it is indeed illegal not to carry it with you (unless you have a German ID card), whilst someone else said it is not illegal but may mean the police will march you to your home to verify your identity.
I know a policeman, so I will ask him.

[ColdFusion]

Approach this problem from a different angle.  How many people on this forum have been stopped by the police and asked for ID?
If you are caught breaking the law then it could be a problem but how many of us are doing that.

[Laneris]

I thought that having my driving license always with me would be a solution if the police ask me for the ID. Is it not the case? It is very unpractical to carry one's passport everywhere. I was asked for my passport in Germany only once: it was at the disco where everyone (no matter how old or young they looked) were queuing up to enter the place with ID cards.

[adamicus]

As far as I know any document with photo and your name on it could serve as your identification document, so driving license should be ok. 

[Maker]

It is unreasonable to carry around the original of your passport, what happends if you lose it or it get stilled? To be on the save side have a copy of your ID or passport.

[Boomboom]

I don't know what the law is here exactly.  Is a photocopy of your passport acceptable?

[ThunderRod]

I think legally it has to be the original.  Go figure.
So much for the practicalities of being a foreigner here.  I do not think they will issue you with the standard official form of ID which German nationals carry with them at all times.  Would be handy, even though I disagree with this sort of thing.  I don't like the thought of a police person stopping me and giving me grief over not having an ID.

[Mickey]

 In France, a policeman had got the right to stop you in the street and to ask you to prove your identity. if you are a foreigner, he has the right to ask you your resident permit. I think it is the same  in most European countries.

 UK has always been better in terms of individual freedom than continental Europe, at least until September 11th.