Loophole in the Illinois Laser Jammer Ban

[gtp405]

Ok, read this, and pay specific attention to the second (d) at the very end.

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Public Act 094-0594

SB1221 Enrolled LRB094 10047 DRH 40305 b

AN ACT concerning transportation.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Illinois Vehicle Code is amended by adding
Section 12-613 as follows:

(625 ILCS 5/12-613 new)
Sec. 12-613. Possession and use of radar or laser jamming
devices prohibited.
(a) Except as provided in subsection (b), a person may not
operate or be in actual physical control of a motor vehicle
while the motor vehicle is equipped with any instrument
designed to interfere with microwaves or lasers at frequencies
used by police radar for the purpose of monitoring vehicular
speed.
(b) A person operating a motor vehicle who possesses within
the vehicle a radar or laser jamming device that is contained
in a locked opaque box or similar container, or that is not in
the passenger compartment of the vehicle, and that is not in
operation, is not in violation of this Section.
(c) Any person found guilty of violating this Section is
guilty of a petty offense. A minimum fine of $50 shall be
imposed for a first offense and a minimum fine of $100 for a
second or subsequent offense.
(d) The radar or laser jamming device or mechanism shall be
seized by the law enforcement officer at the time of the
violation. This Section does not authorize the permanent
forfeiture to the State of any radar or laser jamming device or
mechanism. The device or mechanism shall be taken and held for
the period when needed as evidence. When no longer needed for
evidence, the defendant may petition the court for the return
of the device or mechanism. The defendant, however, must prove
to the court by a preponderance of the evidence that the device
or mechanism will be used only for a legitimate and lawful
purpose.
(d) A law enforcement officer may not stop or search any
motor vehicle or the driver of any motor vehicle solely on the
basis of a violation or suspected violation of this Section.

(625 ILCS 5/12-715 rep.)
Section 10. The Illinois Vehicle Code is amended by
repealing Section 12-715.

Effective Date: 1/1/2006

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Ok, so "(d) A law enforcement officer may not stop or search any
motor vehicle or the driver of any motor vehicle solely on the
basis of a violation or suspected violation of this Section."

does this mean that this is only a secondary offense? So, if it jams a gun, but I slow down and turn it off and they get a speed reading... they can't pull me over because they "thought" I was jamming their gun? Or does this mean they can't pull you over unless they are shooting laser and notice somethng fishy? Or, does this mean that they have to catch me doing something first? Such as if they were to catch me speeding, then they could give me a ticket for having having a laser jammer, but if they can't find me doing anything wrong, they can't ticket me for this? Or would seeing the black heads on my white car warrant them to pull me over?

And I was going to get a laser jammer too... What do you guys think?

[Rottman]

That's what it means in Theory. But let me tell you, being in law enforcement, they will find a reason to stop you. Especially the pricks of ISP.

[amoney]

Interesting loop hole. Will allow for alot of debate in the court room.

[gtp405]

So should I still get a jammer? As long as I don't jam to gun? I saw a video from the board, man I wish I could remember the title... but basically it showed someone from the board with a laser gun, much better than the pro laser III, nailing cars like a sniper. Wouldn't it be suspicious if it took like 5 seconds to get a reading when you can get other cars really quickly? Also, I have a white car, so the heads are gonna stand out like a sore thumb... I was thinking, what if I bought a bra for the car and then cut out holes so I could get at my bumber, and mount the blinder (that I really want to get...) on my bumper. At least it would be black heads on a black bra, harder to see. What do you guys think? Anyone have a jammer that travels frequently in a state where they're illegal?

Thanks

[stalker]

all he will say is, "I think i smell pot, mind if i search you car sir"

There propable cause to search your car!

[leepoffaith]

Though this may seem like a great loop hole, it doesn't mean crap. Like other board members had said, if the cops suspects you are jamming his gun, he will find a reason to pull you over. Examples of this include:

1. No front license plate?
2. Radar detector or air freshener in window? (obstruction of view)
3. Any light on the car out?
4. Sudden braking?

And these are just a few. Yes, it is a secondary offense, but that really don't matter.

[gtp405]

yeah that's true. Has anyone in Illinois, or anywhere else for that matter, had trouble with cops and a laser jammer? I've heard some people talk about getting hit with laser, then turning around to try it again to see how the jammer works here in Illinois. I'm referring to this thread:

http://www.radardetector.net/viewtop...5f9943aa0537db

So it sounds like the cops aren't pulling many people over for this. I was thinking, what would a cop rather do:

1. Pull you over for a jammer, haggle with you and search your car, write out a ticket, and do all the other stuff for up to 45 mins or so, for a small fine of around $50

-or-

2. Use that same 45 mins to pull over and ticket 3 people for speeding and get huge fines and points added to their quota

Now I dunno if this is how a cop thinks, but a thought to consider. Anyone else on the board jammed a laser gun in a state where it's illegal?

[Rottman]

I jammed a troopers gun with a M20 on my Cobra, you should have seen the look on his face. But this was before the law kicked in. I keep my AL7 manual on the dash in case I get stopped. It' makes absoloutely no mention of being a laser jammer. 8)

[gtp405]

I jammed a troopers gun with a M20 on my Cobra, you should have seen the look on his face. But this was before the law kicked in. I keep my AL7 manual on the dash in case I get stopped. It' makes absoloutely no mention of being a laser jammer. 8)

what does the manual say it's for?

[A_Harry_Nutczak]

I should direct your attention to section "A" of this statute, it specifically states that it "cannot interfere with a RADAR unit. it says nothing about a light-based speed detection unit! So therfore they worded it incorrectly to begin with.

Here is the quote: (a) Except as provided in subsection (b), a person may not
operate or be in actual physical control of a motor vehicle
while the motor vehicle is equipped with any instrument
designed to interfere with microwaves or lasers at frequencies
used by police radar for the purpose of monitoring vehicular
speed.

it only states radar! it does not specifically state "lidar" or any other acronym associated with laser based equipment.

If the statute were to say "any instrument designed to interfere with microwaves or lasers at frequencies or wavelengths used by police radar or optical speed detection equipment used by police for the purpose of monitoring vehicular speed"

even that could be argued! is 904NM the wavelength used for lidar units? then you could have a varied wavelength jamming system (cleverly packaged as a proximity warning system designed for warning the driver of distances deemed safe for following other traffic (AKA a tailgaiting warning sustem) which could use a variable wavelength laser diode array, such as 800 NM to 950 NM and basically use brute force to jam lidar instead of trying to match a pulse width.

if your frontal proximity warning system happens to jam lidar (lidar used loosely to describe laser based speed detection equipment used by law enforcement) then you would still be fully legal because this system was not "designed to specifically jam Lidar"!

Does this make sense to you guys? The system is designed to tell a driver he is following to closely, but it just happens to jam lidar by accident!
Then when the LEO gets a jam code who cares!! it was the proximity warning system. not a laser jamming device.

The LEO won't understand it, they are leo's, ( not the brightest diode in the array) but in court it will make sense.

After reading through this statute again, it really makes no sense at all, ( typical for "ILL-ANNOY") so you cannot be stopped or searched for having a jammer on suspicion alone according to this statute, it seems the way it is worded is that the only way a LEO can stop or question you is if you make a statement to him that you have a working jammer system. such as: sitting around a parking lot and asking a leo to see if your jammer works on his equipment.