Motorist's court win raises
speed gun doubts
From The West Australian
By Roy Gibson
January 06, 2007
A motorist has
beaten a reckless driving charge after challenging the accuracy of
the reading from a handheld laser speed gun.
In Fremantle Magistrate’s Court yesterday, a police prosecutor
accepted the laser gun had been used outside the manufacturer’s
standards when Mark John Ould, of Samson, was clocked allegedly driving
at more than 125kmh in an 80kmh zone.
Sgt Neil Regan said it was not in the public interest to proceed with
the case because of the potential for a mistake to have been made.
Magistrate Peter Michelides dismissed the charge against Mr Ould and
awarded him costs of $5000.
Outside court, Mr Ould declined to speak to The West Australian but
agreed he was happy with the outcome. His barrister, Jon Davies, who
earlier congratulated Sgt Regan “on the correct use of the public
interest”, could not comment due to the Bar Association’s
media gag.
It is understood Mr Davies made submissions to the police about the
accuracy of the laser gun reading.
The guns operate by sending a laser beam which bounces off a flat
surface and back to the machine. But it is known that there can be
“shake and slide” problems. The held-held gun can shake
in the hands of the operator or the beam can slide along the surface
of a moving vehicle — creating a false reading.
Shadow police and justice minister Rob Johnston said yesterday the
case worried him.
“We all need to be assured that the hand-held speed guns which
police use are accurate or there will be a lot more court challenges,”
he said. “You don’t charge someone with reckless driving
and, just because there is a challenge over the accuracy, drop the
charge.
“The public is entitled to be told the truth — not just
a lot of spin.”
WA Police director of public affairs Neil Stanbury confirmed that
Mr Ould’s charge was withdrawn.
“It seems as if the officer involved was checking the speed
of traffic in one direction when he heard the noise of a vehicle from
a different direction,” Mr Stanbury said.
“He swung around to try to check its speed. The combination
of movement and angles . . . meant that the reading was not reliable.
“The officer used the machine outside the manufacturer’s
specifications in this particular case but we have full confidence
in the laser devices we use.”
