news

Phone-jamming vigilante facing fine

Florida man Jason R Humphreys spent about two years on a misguided mission to make the roads safer.


Humphreys carried a jammer in his car, sending out strong wide-band emissions that prevented surrounding motorists from using their phones by disabling the signal.

Telecommunications provider Metro PCS alerted the US Federal Communications Commission, (FCC) after it noticed its signal was dropping out along the same stretch of highway twice a day – during morning and afternoon peak hour.

In Florida it’s illegal to text while driving but talking on a handheld mobile phone is yet to be banned. The use of cell-phone jammers is also illegal in the United States, because the devices block emergency calls.

The FCC managed to pinpoint the source of the problem – a Toyota Highlander (known as Kluger in Australia) -using sophisticated interference detection techniques.

There was nothing Humphreys could say when officers pulled him over, the fact they’d lost radio contact with dispatch as they approached the vehicle was a dead give-away.

The vigilante admitted he used the device to stop people from talking on their phones while driving.

Humphreys is facing a US$48,000 fine for his illegal one-man campaign against distracted drivers.

Chat with us!







Chat with Agent