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US: Lasers pointed at drivers at car "sideshows" in Oakland

Police helicopter footage taken in December 2017 shows spectators at an Oakland (Calif.) car “sideshow” aiming laser pointers at drivers. This is hazardous since the automotive stunts performed at sideshows include doughnuts (tight circles with spectators close by) and ghost riding (climbing out of the car while it is moving).

Laser sideshow Oakland 2
Screenshot from a California Highway Patrol video that shows laser pointers being aimed at drivers, at spectators, and at a police helicopter monitoring a sideshow.


A California Highway Patrol (CHP) officer noted multiple hazards, from eye injury to blinding vehicle operators: “So, if a laser got in the eyes of a sideshow participant, it is going to cause temporary blindness, permanent eye damage. It could cause the driver to lose control of the vehicle itself. If he loses control, it is going to hit multiple people at once and cause mass injuries…. The lasers could cause temporary blindness for the pilot, could cause the pilot to alter their course, and it could cause the helicopter to crash.”

During the same time period in December 2017, there was also a report of multiple laser strikes on airplanes landing at Oakland International Airport (story here).

From KRON TV and East Bay Times. See also this story about a man arrested at a January 2018 Oakland slideshow for aiming a laser at a CHP helicopter.