Gardai warn stores and drivers on laser to beat speed traps

Any devices used to frustrate Garda speed detection equipment are illegal, gardaí have said, and motorists using them or retailers supplying them will be prosecuted.

It is "very definitely illegal" to possess, install, import or sell, any product which can detect or block Garda laser speed "guns" or cameras, a Garda spokeswoman said, no matter what the technical make-up or alternative uses of the device.

The spokeswoman made her comments following claims from an Armagh-based businessman that he was selling a new laser device which "confused" Garda guns. This would enable speeding motorists to avoid detection.

Mr Wayne Lyons, of speedcameradefence.com, said he is confident his device is legal, as it is already in use in "cruise control" systems in cars and to open garage doors and turn on lights.

"We don't sell it as a laser jammer. We emphasise that it is used to open automatic garage doors or activate outside lights when you arrive home. A similar system is used in the new Nissan Primera with active cruise control, when that's switched on the police are unable to get a reading of your speed. The Gardaí would have to make Nissan Primeras illegal if they were going to make the LRC 100 illegal."

The ability of the LRC 100 to frustrate the Garda laser equipment was a "side effect" of the product, Mr Lyons said, however he did admit that "99 per cent" of his customers used it as a way of avoiding police speed traps.

The device works by transmitting a signal that effectively "confuses" the Garda laser gun, preventing it from taking an accurate reading of the car's speed.

Police laser guns operate by transmitting about 100 pulses of infra red light in one-third of a second at a reflective area of a car, usually the front numberplate. These pulses are then sent back to the gun, which calculates how much the distance is changing with time - and therefore the vehicle's speed.

Mr Lyons's device detects these pulses and returns its own laser beam at the same wavelength. This beam lasts for five to seven seconds before shutting off automatically and is strong enough to make the laser gun ignore its own reflections and try to calculate the speed of the LRC 100's signal instead.

This produces an error reading on the Garda machine and the car is effectively "cloaked" for those five to seven seconds. At the same time a small red light or buzzer inside the car alerts the driver and gives him time to adjust his speed. Mr Lyons said he has hundreds of orders from the Republic for the he anti speed trap device which costs €500 and has been available in Ireland since last week.

The website advertising the product states that it is "for diffusing police laser guns" and emphasises that it is "easy to hide", however Mr Lyons said he doesn't believe the device is illegal.

However, gardaí said, the road traffic regulations clearly state this type of device is illegal. "The regulations cover any device which is capable of being used to indicate the existence of, or to frustrate the operation of, electronic or other apparatus being used to give indications from which the speed at which a person was driving can be inferred. There is no way that this device can be justified," a Garda spokeswoman said.