IN AN AMAZING about face, SA Police have temporarily ceased using handheld speed detection laser guns and will withdraw 125 prosecutions against drivers.
This follows a number of successful challenges by drivers against speeding fines, where the offence was detected by a Lidar device.
SA Police responded by withdrawing the devices until the law could be amended to resolve what they called “complex legal issues”.
However, they stand by their Lidar devices, claiming that have “no reason to question the accuracy of laser devices”.
The lawyer handling the case called the decision to withdraw 125 prosecutions as “extraordinary”. “Issues were raised approximately two years ago and continued ever since,” he said. “In respect to these particular devices, they can’t actually prove that at the particular time the person was travelling at the speed they allege, because they haven’t been able to test the instrument correctly.”
Three drivers successfully challenged their speeding fines, and came about almost two years after another man, Adam Butcher, had his speeding charge dismissed after questioning the way police calibrate speed guns. In each case,the court came to the conclusion that the “five-step test” performed by police failed to confirm that the speed gun was accurate at the time the test was conducted.
Naturally, the response from SA Police Minister Corey Wingard will be to introduce amendments to the Road Traffic Act to close this apparent loophole.And SA Police Superintendent Stuart McLean warned motorists not to think there would be a “shortfall in enforcement”. “We will continue to use other well-established speed detection options – hand-held radar devices, plus fixed and mobile speed cameras,” he said.
Despite claims to the contrary, the same calibration issues apply to other laser speed devices, and the same issues apply equally in other states and territories.
Any driver who has an unpaid speeding fine from an officer whom they believe was using a Lidar device would be able to apply to have the fine reviewed, said SA Police. But as the barrister handling the case suggested, there are unanswered questions regarding everyone else who has been detected allegedly speeding by Lidar devices in the past two years. “What about those people who paid their fines last week?” she asked.
As always, we suggest you take legal advice before challenging a speeding fine.
SAPol last week announced that, following revisions to the legislation, Lidar radar guns were once again in use on South Australian streets and highways.