Laser detectors are the most recent addition to the traffic officer’s arsenal of speed measuring devices. Built to look and act like a hand‑held radar gun, a laser detector uses a low‑powered beam of laser light that bounces off the targeted vehicle and returns to a receiver in the unit. The unit then electronically calculates the speed of the targeted vehicle. Laser detectors are supposedly more accurate than radar units.
One advantage for police officers of the laser gun is that the light beam is narrower than a radar beam, meaning that it can be more precisely aimed. This is true even though laser detectors use three separate beams, because the combined width of the three beams are still much narrower than a single radar beam at the same distance. This technology reduces, but does not eliminate, the chance that the speed of a nearby car will be measured, instead of the speed of the car at which the operator aims the gun.
14. Does the officer have to be certified to operate radar?
Most law enforcement agencies have some kind of certification process that must be completed before an officer is allowed to use radar. This may be mandated by law or departmental policy. Federal guidelines spell out certain recommended minimum standards for radar operators but these are only recommendations, not requirements. A motorist may ask if an officer possesses a certificate but it is probably rare that an agency will require the officer to present it in the field.
15. How much does the officer have to know about how the radar works?
The officer needs to know how to setup, test, operate, and interpret the readings obtained from radar. He also needs to understand the basic principles of how the radar works. He does not need to know how to build or repair the unit nor does he have to understand all the electronic circuitry any more than the average homeowner needs to know how to build or repair a television set in order to use it.
16. Does a vehicle’s shape and size affect its ability to be clocked with radar?
Yes. It stands to reason that a smaller target will need to be closer to the radar in order to be clocked. An aerodynamically shaped vehicle will present a slightly smaller target for the radar and will likewise need to be closer to the radar before being clocked.
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