[s-cars] Tagged

[Brett Dikeman]

On Sun, Mar 29, 2009 at 5:22 PM, Ian Duff <iduff at comcast.net> wrote:
> Standing, handholding a laser? Right. Challenge it.
>
> The beam width expands as the distance increases. How could he
> discriminate you from the nice, big, juicy Subdivision?

The beam width at practical distances is about the width of a car, and
furthermore, the vehicle size has jack all to do with it; the
brightest reflection comes off the front plate (which is mostly why
we're all required to have front plates these days.)

If you're in close proximity to another vehicle, it doesn't take a PhD
in physics to figure out that if you stay the same distance apart,
you're going at the same speed.

> How far were you from the REO when you got tagged? What's the REO's
> sharpshooting qualification, as he'd need it to handhold a laser with
> any accuracy.

Have you actually operated a laser speed gun?  I have, and I managed
to clock someone (a Waltham cop, by pure coincidence) going around a
corner probably about 350 feet from me up on a hill.  He was dead on
the speed limit, and I repeated it 2-3 times until he went out of
view.  I've never fired a gun in my life bigger than a pellet gun.
Most of the laser guns these days have stocks; all of them have
telescopic sights.  I guarantee someone who has been trained in a
proper shooting stance and spends all day doing it is better.


> Send a formal, written request for his pistol sharpshooting quals

Laser guns have magnified sights and stocks...and pistols do not.
Laser speed guns do not have recoil.  Good luck convincing a
magistrate that.  Then again, if you simply take up enough time to
slow up the docket, you might get the ticket waived.  They're more
interested in the money than anything else.

> You need only to raise reasonable doubt in court.

In criminal court, yes.  A speeding ticket is a civil court matter.

Brett