NCJ Number
200025
Journal
Law Enforcement Technology Volume: 30 Issue: 4 Dated: April 2003 Pages: 118-121
Date Published
April 2003
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article discusses across-the-road photo Doppler radar, a new traffic enforcement technology.
Abstract
Acceptance of across-the-road photo Doppler radar continues to be hampered by high unit cost, by the prevailing law enforcement preference of passing out traffic citations in person, and by the fact that the units currently available require frequent road service in the form of calibration to ensure their accuracy. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has devised a calibrator/simulator unit that will certify the performance and accuracy of across-the-road traffic radars. The units will soon undergo field tests that should improve the credibility of this technology. The unit is designed to warn a user of actual failures that may result in erroneous speed readings. Benefits of across-the-road radar units are well known; they offer a lot of advantages over traditional handheld down-the-road radar guns. They provide easier concealment, better differentiation between vehicles, automated identification of offenders using complementary photographic equipment, and there’s nothing inherent in the system that will trigger radar detection devices. If the vehicle’s speed is greater than the threshold speed set by the operator, a photograph is automatically taken of the vehicle. The radar unit is on a tripod or pole, or mounted in an unmarked police vehicle on the side of the road. The high cost of the radar is due to the sophisticated electronic design of the unit and the necessity of having them frequently calibrated to validate their accuracy.