Traffic enforcement has got to be one of the most thankless and depressing assignments for a law enforcement officer.
Let's face it, everyone speeds. And we all feel like we are entitled to do so. The speed limit is a suggestion to many of us. It's the law that we all pretty much ignore because we know we can drive that fast without mishap or tragedy. And we resent anyone, including traffic officers, who tries to get us to slow down.
Most drivers have pretty much come to realize that traffic enforcement officers can't really cover the roads. They also think that they can beat the citation in court. They're probably right about the odds of being caught speeding on most highways in this country. But if they do get caught, it's likely that you'll have them dead to rights.
Anybody who thinks he is going to beat a ticket in court may want to take a look at the latest tools in your arsenal. The newest radar and laser systems from law enforcement manufacturers were designed to both help you catch traffic scofflaws and eliminate the errors that can lead judges to dismiss citations.
Here's a quick look at some of the more innovative radar and laser systems on the market.
Decatur Electronics
The coolest new product in the Decatur Electronics' line is the Radar Mirror Display, which is exactly what it sounds like. It's a speed display that is built into the rearview mirror of the user's car.
"It's a natural direction to look in because you're looking in the rearview mirror all the time as you drive," says Kevin Morrison, a public safety product specialist with Decatur and a retired traffic enforcement officer. "I've had one in my car for a while now, and I like it a lot. It lets you focus on what you need to know, and it doesn't interfere with the function of the rearview mirror."
Decatur's Radar Mirror Display works with the company's Genesis II Select and Directional two-piece directional radar systems.
The Genesis II Directional allows an officer to restrict the radar's operation to one direction. Morrison says a great use for this is the monitoring of school zones. He explains that school zones are tricky because they have set entry and exit points.
"If you sit in the middle, you'll never hit the targets on either end," Morrison says. "If you sit on one end, you'll slow them down because they'll all see you and slow down before they get to you. But if you take directional radar and set it for the opposite direction and sit at one end of the zone and clock them as they enter the other end of the zone, you'll get all your targets."
Kustom Signals
The latest dash-mounted radar system in the Kustom Signals line is the Eagle II series. Kent Hayes, Kustom's product manager for speed products, says the Eagle II's advanced digital signal processing "gives it some of the best and quickest target acquisition on the market."
Hayes adds that the most innovative and patented feature on the Eagle II is the system's TruTrak vehicle speed sensor (VSS). According to Hayes, TruTrak eliminates shadowing, combined speeds, and fan interference, which can be a problem with some moving radar systems. Shadowing is an error that can occur when a radar measures a large, slow target instead of the ground speed and displays an incorrect patrol speed. TruTrak takes the speedometer input and directs the radar to look for the patrol ground speed in a narrow speed range.
Kustom Signals also makes a variety of handheld radar systems. Top of the line is the Falcon HR, a versatile radar system with direction sensing and selection that can be used as a stationary handheld radar or moving radar mounted in a vehicle.
In addition to its radar systems, Kustom Signals makes a variety of laser speed enforcement tools. Its two most popular laser systems are the Pro-Laser III and the Pro-Lite+, a binocular-style laser system.
Both Kustom Signals laser systems feature a square aiming reticle that simulates the width of the beam at the target. "At a thousand feet, you will see about three feet of the target that you are looking at through the reticle," says Hayes.