Radar guns

[Max Wellhouse]

I guess Arkansas won't invest in LIdar as they don't wear front license 
plates on their cars.  Twice the prisoners, half the plates!!!

DM&FS

At 12:54 AM 8/10/2006, Brett Dikeman wrote:


>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
>
>
>
>
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