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e secret they don’t want you to know: When traffic radar shows a speed reading, it does not indicate which vehicle is being clocked.
The Truth about Speed Enforcement
How radar and laser guns measure your speed • Why they make mistakes
How they are used unfairly • How to protect yourself
How traffic radar works
Traffic radar units send out a wide
radar beam that’s similar to an invisible
spotlight. e radar beam widens as it
travels, and measures several hundred
feet wide at a distance of one-half mile. So
a traffic radar unit simultaneously “sees”
virtually all cars in sight. e radar beam
hits oncoming cars, and is reflected back
to the radar unit, which can calculate
speeds from those reflections.
Radar can be used from a police car
that’s either stationary or moving, since
it does not require precise aiming to
clock traffic speeds. ere are also handheld units that can be operated from a
car, motorcycle, or an officer standing at
the side of the road.
Since radar does not require precise aiming,
it is even used by unmanned speed trailers.
Radar
How far away can radar clock you?
Radar range depends on the size and
shape of the vehicle. Radar can track a
large truck from over one mile away, even
too far to be seen by eye. But some sports
cars bounce back such a weak signal that
they must be within 500 feet to be clocked.
Radar speed readings caused by distant trucks
are a common source of undeserved tickets.
How radar makes mistakes
Although traffic radar receives
reflected signals from all cars within
range, it has no way to display all the
different speeds, and no way to even
decide which car is traveling which
speed. In fact, traffic radar displays only
a single number, usually the speed of the
strongest reflected signal.
If all vehicles were identical, the
strongest reflection would be from the
closest car. But different vehicles reflect
different amounts of the radar signal.
Radar’s most common error:
mistaken identity
Because of this inherent flaw of
traffic radar, an officer could be
looking at your car while his radar
unit is actually clocking the
speed of a large truck far down
the road—perhaps even out of
sight. And since his radar doesn’t
tell him which vehicle it is reading,
the police officer might mistakenly
think that you are responsible for the
speed displayed. And give a ticket to
you instead of the truck driver.
More than a dozen technical
errors for traffic radar have also
been documented, but mistaken identity
(technically called a “target identification
error”) is by far the most common.
The bottom line
Tickets can be given anywhere, for
any reason, at any time.
Laser
How laser works
Laser works very differently from
radar. e laser gun sends out a beam of
laser light that is so narrow and precise
it must be aimed with an optical sight,
like those used by sharpshooters. e
operator looks through the sight, aims
Laser guns are aimed with a sight, like a rifle.
Radar and Laser: Fair or unfair?
Why radar and laser are used:
it’s not always about safety
When a driver is blatantly ignoring
safe driving techniques (i.e., speeding
through school zones or weaving in
and out of traffic) police are rightfully
enforcing traffic safety laws. But more
oen than not, traffic radar is not about
safety. It’s about revenue.
at a specific vehicle, and pulls the trigger,
sending out a beam of light. When
this beam is reflected back to the laser
unit, the unit provides a speed reading.
Because of the narrow beams, laser
units are hand-held, and can only be
used from a stationary position.
Common laser errors
Both human error and the nature of
laser light contribute to errors. For
example, laser can only be used at a
distance of a thousand feet. is does
not give much time for aiming or vehicle
identification. Environmental and usage
conditions also affect laser. Rain, fog,
and snow can lead to false readings, as
e fact is, radar and laser speed
measurement are used to make it easier
to give traffic tickets. ey are oen set
up in areas where there are no safety
or traffic problems, simply high traffic
volume. Many times they are set up to
monitor the speed of every vehicle that
passes.
And enforcement is oen highly
selective, with almost all vehicles
exceeding an oen unreasonably-low
posted speed limit, but only a few
vehicles stopped.
Safety, or revenue?
Many times, speed enforcement
is motivated by revenue, not safety.
e virtually perfect conviction rate
can reflections of laser light from
highway structures and other vehicles.
As with any complex electronic
device, there can be technical
malfunctions and miscalibrations. It’s
even possible for the optical sight to be
misaligned, so the operator aims at one
vehicle, and clocks another.
Laser is inherently more difficult
to use and sensitive to environmental
conditions. In fact, because of
inaccuracies, some jurisdictions have
refused to give laser judicial notice,
which is required before a device is
authorized to be used for measuring
speed by law enforcement agencies.
of radar and laser clocked tickets has
balanced more than one town’s budget.
One town in West Virginia with a
population of only 3,200 issued more
than 18,000 tickets in a single year,
booking almost $4 million in revenue.
The high cost to the motorist
e cost of a single ticket can add
up to thousands of dollars. e fine
itself can range from $200 to $400 or
more, with insurance increases that
can add as much as $1,000 to $1,500 in
additional premiums. Many people pay
traffic fines out of convenience, never
realizing that insurance companies
treat payment of fines as a reason to
increase your premiums, regardless of
whether you were guilty or not.
One town in West Virginia with a population of
only 3,200 issued more than 18,000 tickets in a
single year, booking almost $4 million in revenue
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