‘Loover plates’ vs. photo radar                                               
April 24, 2003 12.00 AM

Enough with ‘the stinkin’ Kodak moments at East Valley intersections.

It was bed enough when there were only a few of the civil-rights bulldozing eyesores scattered around. Unfortunately, these out-of-control Photocops are proliferating like whiteflies.

Photo radar was a bad idea that has grown decidedly worse. Flying under the false banner of policing our cluttered roads against a so-called rash of frustrated red light runners. They’re really nothing more than a way of extorting piles of Benjamin’s from the public’s pocket

Private companies like Lockheed Martin are making a fortune, and they feed police departments a shared income stream cities are growing dependent upon.

As is the norm in our capitalistic society, the corporations are pushing for larger profits to beef up the coffers. They’ve erected fresh armies of Photocops and are privately battling communities over quotas and shorter yellow light times designed to trap more “offenders.”

For every blatant red light runner punished, they zap the wallets of hundreds of harried businessmen and multitasking soccer moms caught between a caution light and the dreaded red. For Lockheed Martin, it’s like owning a fixed slot machine that never pays out.

Safer? Are you kidding? With people jamming on their brakes to avoid “the $200 drive home,” it has become a Photocop nightmare out there. Distracters claim that there has been an alarming rise in rear end collisions at wired intersections.

One East Valley man has stepped forward to help his neighbors, and the whole nation, fight back. Mesa entrepreneur Dave DeGroote has devised a louvered license plate cover that works like a mini-blind. A flesh and blood policeman can still see the numbers fine. Elevate the angle, however, and you can say “sayonara, baby” to evil Mr. Photocop.

DeGroote insists his creation is an improvement on the mirrored “flashback” covers that often result in a ticket for too obviously obscuring the plate and the magic sprays that don’t Work” In addition, the increasing use of infrared technology is making those defenses obsolete.

The legality of the ‘Loover plates’ remains in that hazy area between civil rights, Big Brother, police discretion and fierce photo radar company lobbing. “Loovers,” DeGroote explains, are far easier to see than a pickup with its tailgate open, or an SUV with a spare tire mounted on the rear. Tests reveal no obstruction at the required 100-foot distance, as the statute requires - at least horizontally.

Worst case scenario is a $50 to $100 non-moving violation, ‘incorrect display’ ticket that you can fight in court. That still beats a $175, three-point red light offense,

They’re absolutely legal,” DeGroote claims. “I’ve had cops on my tail dozens of times, and I’ve never had a problem.”

In fact, DeGroote staged a mini media event last December to get a ticket and create a test case, but the Mesa police, on the advice of prosecutors, refused to bite.

You can buy a “Loover” for $19.95 from DeGroote’s Web page. www.loover.com Currently, ‘there are no walk-in store sales to avoid the $9.95 S&H. Those ordering on the Web also receive a membership to an organization called the National Association Against Photo Radar.

This is all a good start, but I prefer my fantasy solution. It involves the bed of a fast pickup truck, a deer rifle equipped with a night scope, a bottle of Jack Daniels, and one glorious evening of taking back our streets from the mechanical storm troopers.

Dary Matera , a new community columnist, is an author who lives in Chandler . The views expressed are those of the author. He may be reached at dary@darymatera.com