/ 20 November 2007

Driver gets off lightly for anti-speed-trap device

A businessman who was arrested because his Porsche Cayenne was equipped with an anti-speed-trap device has been allowed to pay an admission-of-guilt fine, News24 reported on Tuesday.

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, the report said.

Mabanga, who appeared in Germiston Magistrate’s Court on Monday, was fined R500 and ordered to remove the unit.

The businessman claimed the unit had been fitted by the manufacturers.

However, Jessica Baker for Porsche said they knew that some owners fitted the devices.

”They are not on our list of approved accessories for any Porsche model,” the report quoted her.

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.

Potgieter said it would be 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.

The report said 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.

This gave the motorist a chance to slow down. – Sapa