Vigilante Faces $48k Fine For Jamming Cell Phones

Distracted driving has become a concern for motorists everywhere, but one Florida man took things to a new level.

Not wanting drivers around him to be taking on their phones while behind the wheel, Jason Humphreys of Seffner, Fla. installed a cellphone jammer in his Toyota Highlander. Currently in Florida, motorists are still legally able to drive and talk on their phones at the same time without a hands-free kit, while texting while driving is illegal.

Naturally, using a cell phone jammer is also illegal unless you’re a law enforcement officer, so Humphreys is now facing $48,000 in fines and has 30 days to pay it or to file a response.

Tracking Humphreys and his jammer wasn’t easy for the state. In fact, he used it for the past 16 to 24 months. Since Humphreys used the jammer for so long, he could face up to $337,000 in fines according to the FCC.

Humphreys was tracked down after Metro PCS tipped off the FCC that something was amiss on a stretched of Interstate 4 between Seffner and downtown Tampa during normal commuting hours. The FCC investigated through direction-finding techniques and discovered strong wideband emissions coming from Humphreys’ Highlander.

[Source: Network World]