Some people say that the first generation of radar guns was not used to seize speeding vehicles, but to clock the speed of thrown baseballs. This was done in order to help pitchers improve their throw in order to get the best possible curve and velocity in an individual throw. Soccer, football, and hockey moves were also clocked with the use of radar guns. Of course, it was not long before the law enforcement industry saw an opportunity to reduce and deter the number of speeding motorists by catching speeders right in the act, and subsequently issue fines.
Police officers all over the world actively and regularly use radar guns as a mean of patrolling the roads. From back country roads where it can be tempting to drive too fast on narrow twists, to busy highways where drivers may engage one another in aggressive vehicle maneuvers, police officers are cracking down on offenders with a handy gun that does a lot of their work for them.
Radar guns were initially somewhat inconsistent and inaccurate, but technology has vastly improved and honed their abilities. These days both radar and lasers are put to use in recording the speed of a vehicle. Other vehicles, trees, and poor weather or road conditions are no longer factors in determining whether or not a speeding driver is picked up by the radar – unless the driver manages to slow down before the radar gun’s range, that driver can expect to be pulled over and be handed a ticket, or at the very least receive a lecture on safe driving.
So how can you avoid a police speed gun? Well, there is no avoiding a radar gun, as its beam can be sent out up to half of a mile. However, you can avoid the police officer on the other end of it by not speeding. Police radar guns cannot be fooled by trickery, as they work by telling the computer within the gun how quickly its beam bounces back. If you are speeding, then the beam bounces back faster, and thus the officer knows how fast you were really going in a 55mph zone. In addition, since radar guns work in both stationery and moving vehicles, there is always a chance that the officer driving within the legal speed limit a few car lengths down the road knows that you are gaining on him a little too quickly.
