Police nab driver with entire mobile office jammed into car
BERLIN (AP) - Forget texting while driving. German police say they nabbed a driver who had wired his Ford station wagon with an entire mobile office.
Saarland state police said Friday the 35-year-old man was pulled over for doing 130 kph (80 mph) in a 100 kph zone while passing a truck Monday.
Built on a wooden frame on his passenger seat they found a laptop on a docking station tilted for easy driver access, a printer, router, wireless internet stick, WLAN antenna, and an inverter to power it all.
A navigation system and cellphone mounted to the windshield completed the array.
Since there was no evidence he used the office while moving, he got away with a €120 ($153) speeding ticket and a possible fine for having unsecured items in his car.
Saarland state police said Friday the 35-year-old man was pulled over for doing 130 kph (80 mph) in a 100 kph zone while passing a truck Monday.
Built on a wooden frame on his passenger seat they found a laptop on a docking station tilted for easy driver access, a printer, router, wireless internet stick, WLAN antenna, and an inverter to power it all.
A navigation system and cellphone mounted to the windshield completed the array.
Since there was no evidence he used the office while moving, he got away with a €120 ($153) speeding ticket and a possible fine for having unsecured items in his car.
Doesn't look much different then what you see in a standard police cruiser.
they "nabbed " him for a mobile office, the headline is a misnomer, they let him go, they only nabbed him for a speeding ticket. The office equipment was not illegal. (using it while driving may be, but possession is not)
This is slightly OT, but it serves as a good reminder not to put anything you wouldn't want to be hit over the head with in a crash inside your car. Packages, bowling balls, Xboxes... you get the picture. I also strap down the pet carrier, for both of us.
the only violation would be if he had his computer open and blocking his vision while driving.
What's the big deal? The local cops or at least WSP has a similiar set up. Last time I got busted by WSP, the copper printed off my ticket and handed it to me.  I'm OK with that as most cops are semi-literate and need all the help then can get. Â
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@Wormwood The "big deal" is that cops are reqiured to use their vehicles as their offices. Kind of hard to catch the speeder sitting behind a desk in the precinct! And, their equipment properly, in correct locations. I have NEVER seen a cop even using his/her cell phone while driving, let alone their computer. Not saying its' never been done, just never saw it. I have seen them pulled to the side of the road and using the phone or computer. Obviously, you have a distorted opinion of cops, since you call them semi-literate. More literated than many, many people posting here with their mis-spellings and mis-punctuation!
@Wormwood When I looked at the picture that was the first thing I thought as well.
It would be interesting to see what the penalties are for texting and driving around the world. KOMO get on that for me would ya!?
 @Rockberry In Singapore they fine you $1000 and confiscate your phone.
@Barlion @Rockberry And the second strike has REAL strikes!
 @Barlion  Now thats a real punishment! I like it.
 @Rockberry I can say in Idaho there is only one place you can not text and drive. The rest of the state is free to do so. The town that does not allow texting does say it is OK to talk and drive with your cell. If I remember right the fine for texting was around 60 dollars. People there think that is high to. A no seat belt ticket is 15 dollars, oh and you can get off with a warning there
All that would be ripped off in about 30 minutes in the United States.
 @Stock Woodie Probably less than that...lol...
Cops have laptop s and such things in their cars for a reason.. they are a public servant for public safety... for ever other person naturally this is not acceptable... rag on cops all you want but when you need them and they are there for you they are your best friends!... the amount of people who like to rag on cops on here is amazing...
@Freespeech So are dog catchers. Their employment status doesn't make them any more able to multitask while driving than anyone else.
 @Freespeech This mobile office may not be needed by the everyday person, but that doesn't mean some don't find this appealing.  In 50 years, they will laugh at this man for one reason, the bulk of his rolling office, not the actual content.
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I see nothing wrong here. Â A bit excessive by todays standards, but nothing wrong.
@John Eugene Give the automakers time, they like to incorporate more and more into their cars.
@FreespeechWhen I needed a cop last year, none showed up. I waited days for someone to come and nothing. My insurance adjuster wanted to know if I filed a report... well how could I? I called and had to leave a message, that's right not actually talk to anyone but leave a message and still no one came.Â
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I have ham radios in my car, it's not illegal so why not have a laptop or a home office? Again, it's not illegal just secure your stuff.Â
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 @PrairieDawn  @Freespeech You had to leave a message... did you call 911? Most agencies now you call 911 if you need a police response even if it's not an emergency, you just tell them it's not an emergency. Sometimes they put you on hold for a little while.
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   @PrairieDawn If only there was a building that you could go to that had lots of police officers in it.  Like a station or something. Â
It's Obama's fault.
 @Howard Beale Hey, Howard, that might have been funny the first couple of times, but it's getting old now.
Besides, everybody knows it was Bush's fault.
Almost looks like the inside of one of our area's cop cars...but that's just me.
And to top it all off, he was playing Going Mobile by The Who endlessly. ;)
That's freakin awesome!! hahahaha
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So long as he never used this stuff while he was driving - I'm impressed with the ingenuity that went into cramming all of this stuff into his car.
 @JoeKing2 Storm chasers have been doing the same thing for many years.
With only the one very poor photo it's impossible to say definitively, but my main initial concern would be the multiple items attached to the windshield which 'may' be obscuring the driver's field of view. Â Beyond that, providing the other items are secured properly and in accordance with the mount manufacturer's specifications this setup is really rather tame. Â Police officers, salespeople and ham radio operators frequently have FAR more gear in their rigs than this guy....he's really an amateur by comparison. Â The angle of the photo makes it look very cluttered but if everything listed in the article is bolted down properly, this would be a minimal, Â entry-level mobile office user's rig that is quite common in any developed country.
Looks a little like a police car.