Chandler Gunning For
Speeders
Police Department May Get
6 High-Tech Laser Radar
Devices
By Lindsey Collom
The Arizona Republic, 3-8-05
The Arizona Republic, 3-8-05
Chandler police may soon have a new weapon in
speed enforcement.
The Chandler Police Department recently was approved for a grant from the Governor's Office of Highway Safety to purchase six ProLaser IIIs, the newest technology in laser radar guns.
Police say the devices would help officers enforce speed on multilane roadways because they are target one vehicle at a time, minimizing the possibility of false readings. Current radar guns can have trouble differentiating between multiple vehicles in some situations.
The Chandler Police Department recently was approved for a grant from the Governor's Office of Highway Safety to purchase six ProLaser IIIs, the newest technology in laser radar guns.
Police say the devices would help officers enforce speed on multilane roadways because they are target one vehicle at a time, minimizing the possibility of false readings. Current radar guns can have trouble differentiating between multiple vehicles in some situations.
Chandler police requested $24,433.47 to purchase
the laser units and a traffic-data collection device. Although the
department has been approved for a grant, it has yet to receive the
funds and is not guaranteed the total amount.
Chandler Police has one first-generation laser radar gun assigned to one officer. The new equipment will rotate among the 19 motorcycle officers assigned to the Traffic Unit.
Laser radar guns use Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) technology for quick and precise vehicle targeting. A beam emitted from a ProLaser III is 3 feet wide when targeting a vehicle 1,000 feet away. The width of a radar beam at that distance grows to about 250 feet, making the laser gun more precise.
"Our officers may be working a congested traffic area and if you're pointing at traffic and there's cross traffic, it will interfere with the operation of the radars," Chandler Lt. Lucas Hunt said. "If you have a group and there's not one that stands out, at times we have to give up enforcing a speeder because we're not 100 percent certain that's the vehicle."
Chandler police issued 6,487 civil citations for speeding in 2004.
Four drivers were given criminal citations, meaning they could have exceeded 35 mph approaching a school crossing, exceeded the speed limit in a business or residential district by more than 20 mph, or drove faster than 85 mph in other locations.
Hunt said the new equipment would increase officers' ability to issue citations, but it is not foolproof.
Rain can inhibit its use, and line of sight is so precise that a leaf or branch may interrupt targeting.
There is also the potential for laser jamming. Although it is a federal offense to attempt to jam a radar gun, there are no federal sanctions against laser jammers, which are controlled by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. A handful of states - including California, Utah, Nebraska, Virginia, Indiana and Minnesota - have banned laser blinders or blockers. They are not prohibited in Arizona.
Chandler Police has one first-generation laser radar gun assigned to one officer. The new equipment will rotate among the 19 motorcycle officers assigned to the Traffic Unit.
Laser radar guns use Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) technology for quick and precise vehicle targeting. A beam emitted from a ProLaser III is 3 feet wide when targeting a vehicle 1,000 feet away. The width of a radar beam at that distance grows to about 250 feet, making the laser gun more precise.
"Our officers may be working a congested traffic area and if you're pointing at traffic and there's cross traffic, it will interfere with the operation of the radars," Chandler Lt. Lucas Hunt said. "If you have a group and there's not one that stands out, at times we have to give up enforcing a speeder because we're not 100 percent certain that's the vehicle."
Chandler police issued 6,487 civil citations for speeding in 2004.
Four drivers were given criminal citations, meaning they could have exceeded 35 mph approaching a school crossing, exceeded the speed limit in a business or residential district by more than 20 mph, or drove faster than 85 mph in other locations.
Hunt said the new equipment would increase officers' ability to issue citations, but it is not foolproof.
Rain can inhibit its use, and line of sight is so precise that a leaf or branch may interrupt targeting.
There is also the potential for laser jamming. Although it is a federal offense to attempt to jam a radar gun, there are no federal sanctions against laser jammers, which are controlled by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. A handful of states - including California, Utah, Nebraska, Virginia, Indiana and Minnesota - have banned laser blinders or blockers. They are not prohibited in Arizona.
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