UK laser laws?

[hashlasersdosei]

Hey, can anyone tell me ALL the UK laser laws? I know people in the UK arnt allowed to sell over 1mW in shops, but is it still legial to buy them off the internet or import them?

 

[JapanMan2]

no it's not legal, however that doesn't stop some of us


if you manage to get your hands on them, but use them responsibly then you wont get into trouble or anything.

 

[hashlasersdosei]

So you cant import them into the UK??!! In october I brought a 300mW red laser with no troble :-?

 

[maxkillz]

it not legal but you can still get them in, customs doesn't check every single package you know but if you get caught your screwed

 

[diachi]

I don't think UK laws are all that strict about importing. You'll probably have no problems importing them, but be careful if you are using any lasers.

-Adam

 

[hashlasersdosei]

Well I live in a rural area anyway.

 

[hashlasersdosei]

maxkillz,

How am I screwd? Im buying the alpha from nova, so if they do confercate it, they send me another one right?

 

[randomer3]

Indeed they do, gotta love Nova!

 

[maxkillz]

maxkillz,

How am I screwd? Im buying the alpha from nova, so if they do confercate it, they send me another one right?

I'm talking from most companies and from individuals. NOVA is an exception

 

[hashlasersdosei]

Yea, Dragon lasers and nova lasers ALL THE WAY!!!

Ill problably just make lasers from now on.. Im not that botherd.

I dont buy from most companies anyway...

 

[JapanMan2]

maxkillz,

How am I screwd? Im buying the alpha from nova, so if they do confercate it, they send me another one right?

if it get's confiscated, yes they will send you another, but you will get a mean warning from H&M Customs

then it's upto you if you want to risk getting caught again.



i got a mean letter from customs when i bought a shuriken, just after they banned them. (i didn't know they got banned)

 

[milantheone]

hello i come from slovakia but i am living in UK now..... i own few laser's... i churchased them before i happend illegal do do so... . so now what i have to do??? i have to put them to the bin??? is it now illegal to own these lasers or only purchased them???
i cant now play with them outside????

and one more question, can i order any laser above 5mw from dealextreme or not???
can i use somehow argument that i am an Slovak origin..???? :-?

 

[davidgdg]

There are at least four separate issues here.

1.  Laws  relating to the  _ownership_ of lasers in the UK

2. Laws relating to the _use_ of lasers in the UK

3. Laws relating to the _importing_ of lasers into the UK

4. Laws relating to the _sale_ of lasers in the UK


Ownership

There are no laws in England dealing with the ownership of lasers in the UK. It is therefore legal to own lasers in the UK of any power.

Use

I recall reading in many places that the use of lasers > 1mw is  "illegal" in the UK. However, I cannot find any law or regulation to this effect. I recently did a search for "laser" in a collection of all UK statutes and statutory instruments in the last 30 years and did not find any relevant entries. I have also searched the Health and Safety Executive website. Again, there is nothig to show any specific laws dealing with the use of lasers.

The position therefore seems to be that the use of lasers in the UK is merely subject to the general law. For hobbyists this means that it is  legal to use lasers  in public places (fields, parks etc) as long as you do so safely.. It might possibly be a nuisance at common law if you were to dazzle large numbers of people, but that is about it. Of course, that said, you should always use your common sense. Don't go shining high powered pointers at planes, police cars, people or through windows.

If you are an employer then you will be subject to Health and Safety Regulations. Again I cannot find any specific regulations on the topic, but I think there may be recommendations from the HSE that pointers used in lectures and other public displays do not exceed 1mw. This is sensible anyway.

I do not know what if any regulations there are dealing with public laser shows. If they exist, I have been unable to find them.

Importation

As far as I can tell, there are no restrictions on the importing of lasers into the UK at least by private individuals for private use. There was a recent case of a consignment of lasers being seized by customs: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/suffolk/7710530.stm
However, I suspect this relates to sale (see below). The woman quoted says that the lasers in question "are way more powerful than is legally allowed in this country". I do not know what this is based on. She may have been misquoted or (more likely) she is simply wrong.

Sale

This is the grey area. There are no specific laws dealing with the sale of lasers. However, the General Product Safety Regulations make it illegal for companies to sell any product that is not a "safe product":
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2005/20051803.htm
As far as I know, no UK vendor has been prosecuted for selling high power pointers, but my guess is that the customs seizure above had something to do with these regulations.

So to summarise, English law is as follows:

1. There are no restrictions on owning high power lasers.
2. If you are a hobbyist there are no restrictions on using them, unless you break some other law in doing so.
3. There are no restrictions on importing them (at least if you are a hobbyist)
4. Shops may be taking a risk in selling high power pointers - but the position is unclear.

Hope the above helps (but given without any warranties......)

 

[JapanMan2]

"The seized pointers are illegal in the UK as their power rating of 5 milliWatt (mW) is more than the 1mW allowed. "

^ quote from the page, therefore anything over 1mW is illegal, technically...

 

[davidgdg]

The quote is from the BBC reporter. When it comes to law or science, they are right about as often as a stopped clock is right...

 

[diachi]

"The seized pointers are illegal in the UK as their power rating of 5 milliWatt (mW) is more than the 1mW allowed. "

^ quote from the page, therefore anything over 1mW is illegal, technically...

the only law I have seen stating that is to do with sales of laser pointers over 1mW.

-Adam