A MOTORIST has pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice after the vehicle he was driving was fitted with a laser jammer.
On Saturday, August 4 last year, an officer from Humberside Police was monitoring the speed of traffic on the M180.
At about 10.51am, a silver Range Rover approached the officer, and appeared to be travelling above the 70mph speed.
The officer made an attempt to measure the speed of the vehicle. However an error message was displayed on the speed measuring device which gave the officer reason the Range Rover may have been fitted with a laser jammer.
After a short investigation, it was established that the vehicle was fitted with a laser jammer device and the speed that the vehicle was travelling at, when it was on the M180, was above the speed limit.
Humberside Police liaised with Hertfordshire Police who attended the home of the driver in the county and checked the vehicle, which was found to have been fitted with the laser jamming device. The vehicle was seized and inspected. The device was then removed and handed over to Humberside Police.
The driver of the vehicle was interviewed by Humberside Police and charged with Perverting the Course of justice. He pleaded guilty to this at court and was fined £1000 and £300 costs.
PC Barry Gardner, Casualty Reduction Officer for Humberside Police said: "This was a thorough piece of joint working between Humberside Police, Hertfordshire Police and The Road Safety Support Group, which enabled us to prosecute a driver for perverting the course of justice.
"The driver of the vehicle had been shown to be exceeding the speed limit and was using a device which had deliberately prevented the speed of the vehicle being measured by a police laser speedmeter.
"The early recognition of the presence of the laser by the traffic officer came as a result of the training he had received in how to recognise the signs of these devices. The devices are relatively new in coming to the attention of the police it was necessary to establish effective teamwork between two police forces, the CPS and RSS Ltd to collect and evidence the unlawful use of the laser jamming device.
"I would like to remind people that speed limits are on roads across the country, not to catch drivers out or to make money, they are there for a specific reason and by exceeding them you are putting the lives of yourself and other roads users at risk.
"Anyone who is considering having one of these devices fitted, I would advise them to think again. This is the first incident of its kind, that I am aware of in the Humberside area and police will now be working to make sure that anyone who may have these fitted to their vehicles, is also brought to justice.
"The work of all those involved has resulted in the driver of this vehicle being fined £1,000, plus £300 costs, having his vehicle seized by police and having to go to court."
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