New law on using laser pens to target vehicles

A legal ban on using lasers to target vehicles has taken a step forward.

Current laws enable prosecution for maliciously shining lasers in some situations but the new legislation would create a specific offence covering vehicles on air, land and sea.

Those convicted could be jailed for up to five years.

Transportministerhumza Yousaf told a Holyrood committee: “There have been an increased number of reported incidents in the deliberate misuse of laser pointers with consequences which could have been fatal. A man was jailed two years ago for shining a laser pen at a police helicopter.”

He added that since 2010 there have been 171 convictions under air navigation legislation and British Transport Police have reported 85 incidents per year between 2011-2016.