quattro Digest, Vol 34, Issue 34

[George Selby]

At 12:15 AM 8/10/2006, you wrote:
>  One of it's
>big advantages is that it can locate a speeding Corvette amongst 4 or 5
>other lanes of 18 wheelers.  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.  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.  The units are expensive initially as well.
>
>DM&FS

I ran across a LIDAR trap in SC a couple of years ago...I was approaching a 
bridge on I-85, and there was a dark Crown Vic (typical police car here in 
the south) sitting right on the middle of the bridge, and a person standing 
next to it.  I was driving my red 300zx, and thought this a little 
peculiar, so I slowed down to the speed limit (as I know it's a ticket 
magnet.)  On the other side of the bridge there were about 10 marked SCHP 
cars, and they were just pointing to cars as they passed and motioning them 
to pull over.  For the next mile or so there were people being issued 
tickets left and right (literally, on both sides of the highway.)  Of the 
10 or so cars travelling near me as we approached the bridge, only me and 
one other car escaped without being pulled over.  So I'd say they were 
making an excellent return on labor dollars that day!

George Selby