Radar guns

[Brett Dikeman]

On Aug 10, 2006, at 12:16 AM, Max Wellhouse wrote:

> I read an article on the Lidar several years ago and apparently the  
> lighter colored your car, the better chances of you getting busted.

Not true.  You aim for the plate, which is plenty reflective; all the  
painted surfaces are the wrong angle to reflect the beam.  I couldn't  
get a distance reading off an A6's windshield from perhaps 25-30 feet  
away; off the license plate, instant distance reading.  As I said, I  
clocked a (black) police car doing 35mph, hand-held, from 400 feet away.

> the downside for the cops is that  the Lidar gun usually needs to  
> be mounted on a tripod as hand holding it is impossible to get the  
> beam to focus on the target.

Uh....at very long distances, yes.  There's a stock that helps  
stabilize the gun a bit. A monopod might work, but a tripod wouldn't,  
as you need to track with the car until the gun has collected enough  
distance readings that are consistent enough.

You'll see various claims about accuracy, could the officer hit the  
car with his service weapon, etc.  They're not valid comparisons-  
handguns can't be sighted as accurately (the LIDAR units have  
scopes), laser beams don't drop or wander, a LIDAR unit weighs  
considerably more than a handgun and often there is a stock  
available...and a bullet doesn't get progressively larger the further  
it travels from the gun.

>   that means basically a trap has to be set up with chase cars as  
> well as a stationary operator which means lots of labor hours for  
> questionable return for the dollar.

Not true.  Years ago I was tagged by a NY state trooper on I-87 near  
the barracks up around Ballston Spa, who was hand-holding a unit  
while sitting in her cruiser, parked in front of a bridge support.  I  
think it was for something like 73 in a 65...just enough to make them  
money, and not enough to make tourists care enough to complain.

> The units are expensive initially as well.

They used to be subsidized to some degree by Geico...and they more  
than pay for themselves given that tickets are usually at least $50.

During the GTG I demonstrated one of the more amusing problems with  
LIDAR units- aim it at the pavement in front of you, pull the  
trigger, and sweep it up.  I tried it twice and got readings of  
30-32mph.  I imagine if you did it across longer distances, you could  
get a much higher reading.

Brett