· KNOW THE LAW; How the Road Safety Bill affects you:

The Road Safety Bill, which is currently before Parliament, will give police greater powers to tackle a number of issues, such as drink-driving, uninsured motorists, speeding and mobile phone use.
But speed camera detector owners should pay particular attention to clause 17. This proposes all radar and laser detectors should be banned from use and carriage in the UK. If the Bill were to become law, anyone carrying an active detector would be prosecuted. Systems which use global positioning system (GPS) satellites are not affected.

This Bill has just passed through the House of Commons, but before it can become law, it also has to go through the House of Lords, where it has yet to be given its first reading. If it is approved there, it becomes an Act – but the Department for Transport (DfT) claims it will take another year of consultation with the public, product makers and other interested parties before the regulations are agreed.

A spokeswoman said: “If the Bill is approved, it will probably be the end of 2006 before the legislation comes into effect. The wording of the Bill is deliberately quite open, so we can keep on top of technological advances as they happen and incorporate them into it.”

Source: Auto Express Magazine, April 13th 2005, Page 67.

Radar Direct Comment;
Most modern ‘speed cameras’ can detect a vehicles speed without the use of radar or laser, and the most effective speed camera detectors today use GPS technology.
Given that the user can disable the laser function on most GPS detectors, products including Snooper GPS and Road Angel should remain legal.