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Speed-trap alert 'not illegal'
20/11/2007 07:47 - (SA)
Andre Damos and Leo Kok, Beeld
Johannesburg - A businessman who was arrested because his Porsche Cayenne was equipped with an anti-speed-trap device that could interfere with speed readouts, has been allowed to pay an admission-of-guilt fine.
Moto Mabanga was arrested by Ekurhuleni metro police on Sunday and charged with attempting to defeat the ends of justice, after suspicions arose that he was using a device to impede an accurate speed-trap readout.
His vehicle was also impounded.
Mabanga claimed the unit had been fitted to the car by the manufacturers.
Jessica Baker for Porsche said on Monday that they knew that some owners fitted the devices "to keep a check on their speed while on the roads".
"They are not on our list of approved accessories for any Porsche model," she said.
'No law against the devices'
Mabanga, who appeared in Germiston Magistrate's Court on Monday, was fined R500 and ordered to remove the unit.
But legal adviser Bokka Potgieter said there was no law prohibiting the possession, or use, of such a device.
"People who are caught with them are charged with defeating the ends of justice.
"All the cases I know about have been thrown out of court so far because the State has said it would be too expensive to get a specialist to explain how the device worked, and to test its effect on a radar speed-trap."
He said it would impossible to prove if a motorist was exceeding the speed limit, because the device scrambled the speed-reading equipment for a short period, giving the motorist the chance to reduce speed.
Potgieter said the metro police, therefore, could not prove the motorist had exceeded the speed limit, and could not claim the driver was trying to defeat the ends of justice.
Beeld newspaper heard from an industry expert that updated versions of the devices served to warn motorists of closing distances, which were useful in parking or driving in traffic, and not only to spot speed traps or to scramble them.
A range of anti-radar systems were available on the South African market.
The most basic could spot other laser beams at a distance, and warned motorists they would be within range within a few seconds.
Scrambles the reading
This gave the motorist a chance to slow down.
More advanced and more expensive devices emitted laser signals in response to those of a speed trap.
The signal scrambled its readings, giving the motorist an opportunity to slam on the brakes.
Another expert said modern high-speed cameras immediately indicated the use of most such equipment, although the most-modern units, which also served as parking sensors, could not be detected.
- Beeld
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