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THE SMART NEWS SOURCE | Feb 09 2012 19:50 | LAST UPDATED Feb 09 2012 19:50 |
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It sounds too good to be true. Purchase a can of PhotoBlocker, liberally spray your car's number plate and forget about ever receiving a speeding fine again. In a promotional email doing the rounds in South Africa, the manufacturers of the spray claim that with just one application, a number plate will be rendered as a bright rectangle in speed-camera photographs. Of course, according to urban legend, there are other, cheaper methods -- such as coating one's number plates with Spray 'n Cook or using a transparent number-plate cover. "PhotoBlocker wishes to state categorically that we have instituted extreme legal research and the legal opinion expressed by our legal council is that no South African law is transgressed by the possession or/and sale of PhotoBlocker spray tins," says the PhotoBlocker website. "The same legal council also advised that under no circumstances should PhotoBlocker or its agents support or endorse any attempt to break the speed limit." PhotoBlocker claims that its product is not intended for "maniacs who abuse the roads and put others lives at risk. The irresponsible drivers who seem to think they are above the law and drive like lunatics should not buy our products; they should have their licences revoked permanently." "According to the written law, the Road Traffic Ordinance, if the number plate is visible, it is not breaking any law," said Letitia Hulley, a distributor of PhotoBlocker in South Africa. However, metro police take a dim view of the product. "Those found using such products and then speeding are defeating the ends of justice. We will arrest them and the court will decide what punishment is appropriate," Johannesburg metro police spokesperson Inspector Edna Mamonyane told the Mail & Guardian Online.  CONTINUES BELOW If a camera, which serves as a metro officer's eyes, cannot see a number plate, it is a violation, she said, adding: "The cameras that are manned [by the police] will pull drivers over for violating the speed limit and they will be charged for that and [for] making their number plates invisible to the cameras." PhotoBlocker, which was developed in the United States, costs R249 per can and is good for four plate covers. Hulley said the only thing that removes the coating from the plates is nail-polish remover or other acetone-based products. She had not heard of any complaints thus far in South Africa. Of course, you could just take your foot off the accelerator. TOPICS IN THIS ARTICLE
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