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Special Report: 'Aim. Shoot. Busted.'
The Following Is A Transcript Of A Report Broadcast Nov. 28 On NBC4
VIDEO SHOWS PATROL CAR

LINK TO VIDEO

CHP OFFICER JAY BRAME: I got 102 mph coming your way. Eastbound 210 to the southbound 2. It's a white Infinity, tinted windows. Here we go again.

PAUL MOYER: A gold Honda Civic doing 103 mph on the 210?

CHP OFFICER JAY BRAME: On the 210 Freeway. Very common. Very common.

CHP OFFICER JEFF WILL: Speed is by far one of the biggest problems on the freeway.

PAUL MOYER: But now the California Highway Patrol is introducing a new weapon in the seemingly endless struggle against speeders.

CHP OFFICER JEFF WILL: Most of the people that we stop today probably won't know exactly what hit them.

PAUL MOYER: It's called LIDAR.

ALEX: I have no idea what that is.

PAUL MOYER: LIDAR is short for Light Detection And Ranging.

YOUSEF: I know radar but not LIDAR.

PAUL MOYER: LIDAR emits a laser beam that, like radar, travels at the speed of light. However, the major difference is the size of the beam. At 1,000 feet, radar shoots a field that is 210 feet wide, big enough to cover the entire width of the freeway, as compared to LIDAR, which at the same distance shoots a beam that is just 3 to 4 feet wide, or about as wide as a single car door.

CHP OFFICER JEFF WILL: You are putting the little red dot on that vehicle and you are determining that vehicle speed. You're not determining the person behind them, the person in front of him, to the side of him -- it is that vehicle.

PAUL MOYER: Is LIDAR better than radar?

CHP OFFICER JAY BRAME: For testimony purposes, it makes it easier for us. But they are just as accurate.

PAUL MOYER: Officers we spoke with agreed -- speeders will always outnumber officers. But when they work in speed teams, they are able to write more citations.

YOUSEF: It's just a misunderstanding. I had to pass the car next to me and it was going the same speed. So what are you going to do?

PAUL MOYER: Speed teams involve having one strategically placed officer work the LIDAR while a team of chase cars are standing by.

CHP OFFICER JAY BRAME: Once I shoot the vehicle, I transition and follow the vehicle to make sure when the officer wraps on the freeway or they start, that they are approaching the approrpriate vehicle.

PAUL MOYER: This thing is so easy to use, even I can do it. You put the red light on the car, squeeze the trigger. There is the speed (81). Easy to use, but expensive. Each LIDAR comes with a price tag of $4,300. At this time, the CHP has 261 LIDAR guns statewide with each division having about 30 units. Officers must be trained and certified to use LIDAR, but the technology they say is still secondary to well-trained eyes.

CHP OFFICER JAY BRAME: If a vehicle is coming down the freeway and I estimate them at 80 to 82 mph and the speed comes back at 95 mph, that is a citation you should not write because something is off. Either the LIDAR is off or you are off. Officers stress that a simple traffic stop can often lead to more serious violations. On the afternoon we rode along, officers impounded the vehicles of three speeders driving without licenses, and they even came across a weapon.

While officers are adamant that more manpower is needed, for now they hope to get through to speeders one ticket at a time.

Copyright 2006 by NBC4.tv. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

 

good thing I just got my SRX anf laser shifters

T

 

I use lidar where i used to work, that gun is lethal, and the sad thing for radar detectors is, its instant on, meaning by the time your radar goes off we already have a reading.

The only thing I don't like about it, is you have to basically aim it over your right or left cheek below your eye and aim for the vehicle you think is speeding. The typical radar unit was a shoot and lock on the speed.

 

oh. great.

they had to pick my fwys to write the story on.

i'll be driving slow as hell today..

 

Mike Valentine needs to hurry up and get us an update for this.

 

I don't think the V1 needs an update as it detects laser already.

In 10 years of living and driving in SoCal I don't think I've ever been hit with a police laser. I've had one of my V1's go off but it's normally when I'm stopped at a traffic light and someone's watching **** on their four head rest TV's - or someone's LED tail lights are setting it off.

 

I've had my SRX for two years now. It works by sending out a scrambling signal . . . and it does work . . . but it is not perfect.

Link

 

Lidar has been around for a while. I have one place on I85 that I always get a laser reading. I've never seen anyone so I assume its something else setting it off but I'd rather not take my chances.

 

Oh....i see....this is just laser? Yeah, v1 has been detecting that for a while...doesn't do any good really, just gives you some extra time to decide to either take off or just go ahead and pull over.

There are so many high end cars with that darn radar cruise control around here, and those dang brake lights that set it off.


Blinders work, very well. Either that or the officer couldn't find a good place to hit my car for the speed reading.

 

Got hit with a laser here in FL about two months ago...scared the hell out of me b/c it was instant on and I had the V1 up pretty loud. Luckily I wasn't cruising too fast b/c I had zero time to react.

 

Does anyone know what the recommended distances for aiming a laser at a car are?

I read on a police spec sheet once that it was 1000 feet max, if it was being aimed at the front plate, but I can't find the sheet anymore. Would this value be less if there is no front plate to aim at, and the officer has to aim at one of the headlights? Also, does each state have different guidelines concerning LIDAR usage, or do they just use the laser manufacturer's recommendations for use?

 

Too bad they don't spend this kind of time and money on catching the REAL criminals in society instead of worrying how many tickets and how much money they can make.

 

dang yo thats kinda scurry ive been speeding alot well 80-85 average , i think society in general drives faster then before when i go 70, i get flicked off and cut off like whoa

 

Tollway and Bush around here are very fast, signs say 60 but everyone is going 70 at least...i mean i do 80 all the time and i have had semi trucks cruising with me and even remember an ambulance (no lights on or anything).

 

OP updated with a link to the video report coverage.

Damn, they got an Infiniti for speeding!

 

Supposedly the V1 is supposed to be able to detect the laser reflections or scatter of other cars being hit before they hit you. If LED tail lights make it go off then it's pretty worthless :\

 

ROFL yeah serious.... 210 and 2... exactly where i live.... la crescenta?! and i commute everyday cuz of work... 210e->2S = LA and when i come back home, 2N-210W...... dammit... with all this bs... i think i should just get a camry and put the limiter at 65 or something... LOL

 

.50bmg.

 

phuk this, I'm moving up to laser shifter or whatever the most aggressive detection is. I no longer give a phuk how illegal it is. If there an advanced radar gun on the horizon, they'll alway be something just as advanced to counter it.

 

hahahah i go 210e->2s->134w forest lawn/hollywood/etc

i'm positive i've seen you before cuz i always see z's on that part of the 210 and 2.

what entrance onto the 210? i use the one immediately west of boston... the one that the people who're stuck in traffic trying to enter from lowell don't realize exists.