Oh no, look what CHP is using

[RichM]

http://www.ktvu.com/video/13999566/index.html

[GelStra]

It actually seems like a very basic use of current technology. I am guessing, as was mentioned, that cost was the primary obstacle. Ouch. Looks like bikes would only require a slightly steady hand to nail. Watch out.

[Huzband]

Kinda behind the curve, aren't they?

 

Got tagged with LIDAR in Ga. 10 years ago.

 

The last ticket I got was over a year ago, one month after getting the RT. LIDAR again.

 

The good news is, it can only be used stationary. If he's rolling, he's limited to radar.

[Bill_Walker]

I got hit by LIDAR from a CHP motor on 101 in Goleta back in May, on the way home from Torrey (according to my V1, corroborated by visual). Apparently I wasn't going fast enough at the time to be interesting (Phew!). It didn't make me happy to know they were using LIDAR now, though.

 

This was, BTW, the only time my V1 has indicated Laser when there was a verifiable source. I've had it get triggered, as far as I can tell, by the sun (low sun, uphill), LED brake lights, and of course unknown sources.

[swilson]

They've been using in the south bay for awhile. Not every CHP officer has it though... just a select few.

[NEOHMark]

Ohio, too, has had these guns for years and years and years.

[Motorcop4125]

We've used it in NY for at least 10 years. There is no more effective speed enforcement tool than laser. Stunning in it's simplicity and accurracy. Beats any type of radar, vascar or air timing hands down.

[Mike]

Yep, LIDAR is old hat, though they keep refining the guns. The Illinois State Police use it pretty extensively. For the evil-doer speeders among us, it's kind of a wash. An officer using LIDAR has to be able to be close enough to the vehicle he's targeting to visually acquire it and aim the unit accurately. So, an alert motorist, particularly one who's got a LIDAR detector that may pick up bounce or scatter from the unit, has a reasonable chance of not getting tagged.

 

Just one more reason to stay alert!

[Motorcop4125]

Most motorists are highly unalert. The Laser/Lidar detector is simply a way of alerting the operator of a speeding vehicle to start to slow down and pull to the right to receive his invitation to court!

[motorman587]

What?????? I've been using "laser" as we call it in Florida for years. They just now are allowing it on the interstates. WOW.

 

What he is holding is a LTI and it also can be used with a system call Total System which a program that we use on traffic fatality scene. A good operator can map out a scene in few hours without blocking traffic.

 

Lasers are great as they pin point the car with the red dot.

[Mike]

Most motorists are highly unalert. The Laser/Lidar detector is simply a way of alerting the operator of a speeding vehicle to start to slow down and pull to the right to receive his invitation to court!

 

I'd say you're generally right, but I've gotten mucho advance notice of LIDAR being targeted against cars ahead of me with my Valentine One on a number of occasions. While there's not nearly as much beam spread as radar, infrared lasers, like any other light, reflect off of roadways, signs, and other vehicles.

 

I'm not advocating excessive speed, but the notion that an alert from a LIDAR detector is always too late is a bit of hyperbole.

[smiller]

The DPS has been using lidar on Texas intersates for a while now. It's as Mike says... use a good lidar detector and keep a careful watch out. Lidar is much harder to catch with a detector but a balancing factor is that the range of a lidar unit seems to be less than radar, as least when targeting motorcycles. Plus the LEO must be stopped, so watch the sides of the road. Frankly I fear instant-on moving radar more than lidar.

[GoGo Gadget]

Plus the LEO must be stopped, so watch the sides of the road.

 

 

Most people look 70yds or so down the road. I doubt anyone will really notice the cop standing on the side of the road 2500ft away, by that time, it is too late. In a car anyway, can't really tag a bike at that distance.

[upflying]

CHP is behind the curve in obtaining technology. Politics and budget decides what and when they get it. Like others, I was using the LTI lidar units seven years ago. I managed to get a speeders so far away that I simply stepped out in the road and flagged the violator over to the shoulder. Never needed to start the motor or move out from under the shade tree.

[Lawman]

We can't afford either here...

 

I just write the ticket for the speed I think they were going...

[Huzband]

Sounds like the THP could use you on The Dragon.

[p_interceptor]

Florida Highway Patrol has been using Laser for years.

I prefer Laser to Radar, Laser is target specific and accepted better by both the violator and courts.

[Jones]

I heard that if you wear a helmet made out of aluminum foil (shiny side out) the LIDAR won't work.

[Bruce H]

I think this is lazy law enforcement. The cop stands around shooting cars for speed when there are a lot of other violations that need attention. How about tailgaters, relly pisses me off to have some young honey talking on a cell phone, doing her nails just a few feet from my tail pipe. I figurer the police work for me and am not above flagging them down for a little talk. My last chat was about red light runners in my town (four in a row while I waited). The cop said they don't write tickets for that because they can't prove the light didn't malfunction and the judge throws them out. That's a crock! They need to write a few hundred of them, the media will take care of the judge when he throws them out. I think excessive speed needs attention but so do a lot of other traffic issues.