Are You Really Speeding? part3

A Radar Crew gave out 700 Speeding tickets in only 24 Hours.

This is a blatant "money grab" justified by the government under the guise of road safety while they are taking in millions of dollars in revenue.

There is a way to defeat them. If the photo radar unit clocks you from the rear of the van, it calculates (by your speed) where you will be when you pass so it can snap the picture. If you slow down dramatically as soon as you notice the unit, the unit will be taking a picture of where it thinks you will be when you pass the van; but since you have adjusted your speed, the picture will be of a blank road as you will be "behind" the picture area.

If the unit clocks you from the front, you can (if you are attentive), spot the vans on the side of the road and have time to check your speed before passing in front. Remember; you must keep very alert.

"Laser" is another big conversation topic in speed enforcement. There are very few units in service now (about 3,000), but they are tough to beat. It is used in almost every state on a limited basis.

The laser gun is almost like a real gun, in that you have to aim it directly at the car you want to "clock". It uses a narrow, tightly-focused laser beam instead of microwaves like the X, K, and Ka band radar. Unlike radar, which can't distinguish one car from others in close proximity, a laser operator can pick out your car in heavy traffic. Also, unlike radar which fans out and reflects off trees, buildings, signs, and over hills, the laser beam, (which only gets 6 feet wide at 1,000 ft.) is almost impossible to pick up with a detector until you are "clocked". In other words, if your laser detector goes off (excluding false alarms), you have just been hit by a cop aiming at your car.

However, it has been found that powerful lights can sometimes diminish the laser beam's effectiveness long enough for your detector to go off and allow you to check your speed. Weather, such as fog/humidity/cloudiness can reduce the effectiveness of the laser (as low as 100 feet). Also, contoured cars as well as dark cars (such as black, brown, blue) do not reflect the beam as well as more square and lighter colored cars. These characteristics do not apply to radar.

The advantage on our side is that laser is a very time consuming speed enforcement method. The laser beam has to be separately aimed at each car like the instant-on radar guns. But unlike radar, the beam is so thin you literally have to track the moving car for a few seconds to get a reading, making it very difficult.

OK, let's get back to regular X, K and Ka radar bands.

If you are using a radar detector, don't put it on your dash with a baseball cap or kleenex box over it. Cops look for this.

There are myths that putting tin foil in your hub caps or dragging chains from the back of your car will make it harder for the radar to pick up your speed. These are completely false!

However, there are a few things that can disguise your car from radar. One is a stealth bra. It looks like a normal car bra but has materials that absorb radar waves, not allowin them to "bounce" back to the police radar gun as easily. Assuming you are being "clocked" from the front...

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