laura (07/06/82)
As I heard it, the legality was as follows: You wouldnt have a Fuzzbuster unless you wanted to exceed the speed limit without paying the penalties. So if you have a Fuzzbuster, then you have the intention of speeding. So given that you are probably not caught having it the day you bought it before you were given an opportunity to illegally break the speed limit, you must have already speeded. So having a Fuzzbuster is illegal because its very posession implies that you deserve a speeding ticket (or hundred) and that you are continuing to speed and be a hazard to other motorists. I know that one Ontario resident challenged the law and won when he equipped all the cars of his employees with Fuzzbusters because the factory where he worked produced characteristic radio signals which would trigger the fuzzbuster he prurchased under several conditions, some of which would require his employees to leave the shipping yard which was beside the employee parking lot for their *own safety* -- he did this after an accident occurred ... i cant remember the exact details... and he got off because it was demonstrated that he *did* have a legal purpose to apply Fuzzbusters. The law may have tightened up since then, though... I think that there are other *States* which dont allow Radar Detectors -- Virginia?? laura creighton decvax!utzoo!laura
wagner (07/06/82)
Having an opportunity to break the law is not, in general, enough to convict. The fact that you walked by a wallet left on a counter-top when no one was looking doesnt mean you stole it. Owning a car that can exceed the speed limit doesnt mean you have done so. Owning a fuzz-buster does not mean you have broken the (speed) law. So they made a special law for radar detectors. The law against owning radios that can here police bands has been shown not to stand up (sorry, that should have been hear). How is this any different? It is still illegal to make commercial use of (or repeat) info you hear on police bands (never stopped the tow trucks, tho - always the first to the sceen of an accident!). Interestingly enough, it seems to be illegal to possess certain tools commonly used in burglary (welding torches, chain cutters, etc) unless you can show that you use these ordinarily. Perhaps the same principle applies here? Any lawyers out there? Michael Wagner, UTCS