Sneaky Police + Laser Blocking thoughts

[Megaman]

Well this morning whilst going with the flow of rush hour traffic to work a sneaky unmarked ford galaxy with a camera pointing out the back and a police stripe down the side probably clocked me doing just under 40 in a 30 zone... i wouldn't mind if id been going for a serious blast in the car but in rush hour traffic no where near a school going with the flow its annoying, but i will slow down there now going forwards ...

So that aside, what are peoples thoughts on the laser diffuser products out there which jam the signals of these sneaky cameras. Do you think they are legal to use despite being sold as Parking Sensors or Garage Door Openers?

Anyone fitted them to their WR1 or know anyone that has used these?

Example Diffuser:
http://www.snooperuk.com/products/laserstar/index.html

Ive got a sat nav with speed camera detector spots which has been updated this month and a sat nav snooper with gps speed camera detection which both werent aware of this new high risk zone. Radar detectors give too many false positives and never seem to work very well. The in car laser detectors are a waste of time from what i can see as if it detects a laser youve already been caught...

Discuss...

[Clark]

One of our contract customers has these fitted to his Aston Martin and he says they've saved him a few times. I think he said they're not illegal to have fitted to your car but they're illegal if you use them or something like that?

He said his one jams their signal and makes the display on the gun read as "0mph" as oposed to "error" that some of them do..

[John Mc]

Sounds more plausible if they give a reading back to the gun as 0mph... if they record "error" or "blocked" I think they have more reason to pull you over and "investigate"...

What I really want to see is an accuracy test when these are set up at the side of the road because the Home Office grant these licenses and are admissable in a court of law based on trials but nowhere have I seen a repeatability "on site" i.e. the side of a road when the car isn't flat and the only indicator is a red dot on their screen... I can produce a red-dot on a screen but that doesn't PROVE where the laser is actually pointing because the angle of the gun is critical in both Azimuth and Yaw... just a few degrees error over 20-30m can mean you are reading a different car speed!!!

I would like to bet that PC plod and berk don't bother to check the angle of the gun everytime and rely on the little red dot telling them that their gun is reading the car speed on the screen!!

People take it for granted that these are 99.9% acurrate when all they are in fact is a ranging detector used by building surveyors who can see where the red dot is pointing becuase they rely on that feedback for checking drawings... the police cannot see where that little red dot is pointing... hence my requirement for who calibrates the polices' eyes when setting up??

All a bit dodgy for my liking but the police and criminal system is set-up to capture the easy targets. Rapists, peados, burgulars get away scott free and even when they are caught they get 1 year community order sentences... makes me sick.

End of rant.

[CAVEMAN]

I would severely doubt if these work at all.

I am sure there was a mythbusters episode that tested all these devices and not of them worked.

I guess the only argument/s you could claim against any potential ticket is the calibration that John mentions below, and also that there needs to be a warning sign somewhere prior to the van. I thought the signs were/are compulsory to warn drivers that there is a likely speed check ahead, otherwise it can be entrapment?

I guess only way sure fire way to avoid action is to be careful....or move out here where there isn't many plod in the middle of forest!!

[Megaman]

i think mythbusters tested laser detectors to see if they worked, not laser jammers but i could be wrong.

[CAVEMAN]

pretty sure if was testing most devices to avoid speed traps, including laser jammers.

The military spend a fortune on that stuff...I am just very skeptical about being able to buy a 'laser jammer' for a few quid.

[stijoy]

i have the laser star product fitted to mine,
i got them last year and fitted them to my rb, and in the year and a bit that i had them on the rb, they saved me 3 times!
i have now fitted them to my porsche, and so far been saved once, i have just fitted the upgraded box, it incorporates the new police camera devices that have just been rolled out and i have also got a tester with it that has 4 settings for the 4 different wavelengths, you aim it at the car from over 6mtrs away to make sure that its all working correctly,
also they are marketed as parking sensors not laser diffusers, and they are brilliant at that

[John Mc]

i have the laser star product fitted to mine,
i got them last year and fitted them to my rb, and in the year and a bit that i had them on the rb, they saved me 3 times!
i have now fitted them to my porsche, and so far been saved once, i have just fitted the upgraded box, it incorporates the new police camera devices that have just been rolled out and i have also got a tester with it that has 4 settings for the 4 different wavelengths, you aim it at the car from over 6mtrs away to make sure that its all working correctly,
also they are marketed as parking sensors not laser diffusers, and they are brilliant at that

How much was the kit?

[hightower]

it was in last months banzai 79 quid if i remember right it is a parking sensor that works on the same wave length as the gun/van. it is legal to have fitted and to have on (they claim) i was also thinking about getting one and was going to post a similar post to this!!
the wifes dad was going to get one for his porshe that also opened the garage automatically similar to the one in banzai but can be proved for a more legitamate purpose.

[stijoy]

i have the laser star product fitted to mine,
i got them last year and fitted them to my rb, and in the year and a bit that i had them on the rb, they saved me 3 times!
i have now fitted them to my porsche, and so far been saved once, i have just fitted the upgraded box, it incorporates the new police camera devices that have just been rolled out and i have also got a tester with it that has 4 settings for the 4 different wavelengths, you aim it at the car from over 6mtrs away to make sure that its all working correctly,
also they are marketed as parking sensors not laser diffusers, and they are brilliant at that

How much was the kit?

i got 2 sensors, plus control box last year when i had the rb, think it was around £230ish, them had to have them fitted by one of there approved fitters was around £125, but if you have electrical experience they say that you can do it yourself, the garage put them on my porsche for free, the improved control box was £49 and radar tester was £30, but all the relevant info and prices will be in the above website.

[Megaman]

thanks for your feedback guys, the thing i like about the laser star product is that it doesnt error the police guns, it simply reports 0MPH. Apparently the ones that error the gun are used to prosecute as they send in a pic with the error code on screen of the car and if caught over 3 times on different speed traps in the UK you get a summons apparently.

The interesting thing id like to know stijoy is where your units are fit and if you have to keep them absolutely clean. i.e. would a couple of trips to work in the muddy motorway style rain render the system useless etc. For a front and rear sensor, fitting and a tester ive been quoted £600 - £900 from various companies. If I can find the units cheaper at like £180 per sensor then i cant find a fitter. Some shops locally insist on buying off them if you get them to fit it. Those shops charge literally double for the units which takes the micky. Anyway thanks for the feedback and keep it coming.