The California Highway Patrol (CHP) stopped a Toyota Prius on Friday for a very interesting cause: a Starlink tuner fastened to the hood. The agency said in a Facebook post that it was a “visibility obstruction” placed in the middle of a car’s hood, and the driver had to receive a ticket.
“I stopped the car because of the visual obstruction on the hood. Doesn’t it block your view while driving?” an officer is quoted in a post on the agency’s Facebook page. The driver replied: “Only when I turn right…”
The driver told police they were using the disc to catch Wi-Fi for a service they performed on the vehicle.
“Yes, in fact it is illegal to mount a satellite dish on the hood of your car , ” the CHP Facebook post continued, citing state law that prohibits other visibility obstructions such as objects hanging from rearview mirror or GPS locator is misplaced. “It is a matter of safety. These are the true stories of the Highway Patrol.”
Starlink, SpaceX’s fast-growing broadband internet service, is in beta with more than 70,000 users across 12 countries, according to CEO Elon Musk. Many individual users are paying $99 per month, in addition to an additional $499 upfront fee to order the Starlink Kit. This kit includes a user manual for connecting to the satellite, a signal dish with a tripod and a Wi-Fi router.
SpaceX hasn’t been approved by the FCC to mount consumer Starlink terminals on moving vehicles, but the company has been testing these capabilities for months — mostly for commercial use cases like ships. transport, large trucks and passenger aircraft. Musk said the Starlink antenna, as it is currently designed, would be too large for a personal car.
Reference: TheVerge