Radar Wins Speed Test Against GPS

A Sonoma County, Calif., judge has ruled a speeding case supported by an officer's radar cannot be thrown out. The speeder's GPS system allegedly recorded a speed contradictory to the radar reading, but the judge ruled radar more reliable.

Roger Rude, a retired Sonoma County sheriff's lieutenant, brought the case to fight a ticket his stepson Shaun Malone received for going 62 mph in a 45 mph zone. Rude had installed a GPS system in the car to track his stepson's speeds. Rude alleged Malone never was speeding based on the GPS tracker.

The court ruled against the GPS data, holding that radar data is more reliable.

JB Harper, Radar Systems Engineer for Decatur Electronics, the manufacturer of the radar that clocked Malone, said radar is a time-tested speed assessment tool.

"Decatur radar has been catching speeders for more than 50 years," he said. "Radar reads a speed at the speed of light rather than calculating geographic and time differences between two separate readings as is done in a GPS system."

Officials with the Petaluma Police Department, which issued the ticket, agreed. Petaluma Police Capt. Dave Sears said GPS is a valuable tool but is not as accurate for tracking speed as radar.

For more information about Decatur, visit www.DecaturRadar.com .