Speeding using Radar Question

[WhiteThnder]

Hey guys. I was wondering if you know approximately the time it takes from the time the radar gun is pressed to record the speed to the time the speed is actually displayed on the radar gun. The reason why I ask this is because a police officer recently pulled me along with another car over at the identical time and said "I clocked you guys at 88, and continued to give us a ticket for this violation." I plan to take it to court and argue that it was impossible for him to know the speed of both cars if the radar gun only displays one reading at a time; however, I do not want him to say that he clocked one guy, read the speed, then clocked the next guy, and read the speed hence the reason for my initial question. Also, is there a website I can view that shows detail about the initial question posed?

Thanks for your input

- Greg

[scott715us]

Not only what DC Law says, but there is no reason for the judge to believe that if you have two vehicles runnin with one another whether side-by-side or one behind the next, they are not doing the same speed. Even if you were not doing 88, if you were staying close to this "other vehicle," you were breaking the speed limit, hence breaking the law. I wouldn't try to fight anything with the word "radar" in it. ;)

[tpd_six]

What DC said. The radar reading shows up a fraction of a second after hitting the switch, and there is usually no problem determining the speed of two vehicles in the beam at once. There is an audio tone which assists with target identification.

Most units now even have a fastest/slowest function to make this even easier so the readout doesn't bounce back and forth between two targets.

An officer does not write tickets based on radar alone, the radar is just a backup to his visual estimate. Most oficers after a while of speed enforcement can accurately estimate a vehicle's speed within a couple of miles an hour, and I know officers who have won convictions challenged in court based solely on estimations.

[darrell]

I do not want him to say that he clocked one guy, read the speed, then clocked the next guy

No because if he says that your whole crazy method behind beating it is shot down real quick like and in a hurry now aint it? Dc Law is correct as are scott and tpd.


Good luck but don't expect a V in your collum come court day.

[mcsap]

Time to tuck tail, pay fine and go home.

[BryGuy]

I plan to take it to court and argue that it was impossible for him to know the speed of both cars if the radar gun only displays one reading at a time

Good plan amigo! Go 'head with that and see how it works out for ya!

[acreature]

Radar travels at the speed-o-light, you. 186,000 miles per second ;)

[samseed101]

I clocked you guys at 88

If he clocked you, then he did not use radar. I can't speak for every state, but here, clocking someone means that you got a certain distance behind them, and then maintained that distance. If I am 20 feet behind you, and I stay 20 feet behind you, then all I have to do is look at my speedometer to determine your speed, which would be exactly the same.

However, if he did use a radar, the results are nearly instantaneous.

[WhiteThnder]

No offense guys, but you all missed the point. I simply asked the duration from the time the gun is pressed the the time it is registered. Moreover, if two cars are side by side as you say, there is absolutely not way of telling which car was read by the radar gun. Simply by saying that the officer can tell because they are side by side is obsurd. A radar gun can only read one object at a time; therefore, if two cars are side by side, only one of the objects will be read at a time dismissing any other thought. I do, however, believe that there is a small time between the time the gun is first initiated to the time it is read. The officer must first estimate a speed the car is going and then initiate the radar of the gun. This time is substantial, and the officer likely obtained the speed of one car, and then guessed the speed of another car traveling along side of it. Therefore, if the gun only read one speed which is likely had, the case it dismissed. A radar gun can only produce one reading of a single object at a time. The end.

[acreature]

Sadly, you are misinformed. As it has already been said, Radar is a cooberating tool for the opinion of the Officer. The Officer does not need the Radar to issue a speeding citation.

Radar travels at the speed of light. Easy way for you to understand is to point a flashlight at something, and TURN IT ON. How fast was that?

The radar reading cannot stand alone, but the opinion of an Officer on your speed does, and WILL.

Good day. Pay the clerk before you leave the building. God save this state and this Honorable Court.

[acreature]

No offense guys, but you all missed the point. I simply asked the duration from the time the gun is pressed the the time it is registered. Moreover, if two cars are side by side as you say, there is absolutely not way of telling which car was read by the radar gun. Simply by saying that the officer can tell because they are side by side is obsurd. A radar gun can only read one object at a time; therefore, if two cars are side by side, only one of the objects will be read at a time dismissing any other thought. I do, however, believe that there is a small time between the time the gun is first initiated to the time it is read. The officer must first estimate a speed the car is going and then initiate the radar of the gun. This time is substantial, and the officer likely obtained the speed of one car, and then guessed the speed of another car traveling along side of it. Therefore, if the gun only read one speed which is likely had, the case it dismissed. A radar gun can only produce one reading of a single object at a time. The end.

All of this knowledge is apparently from countless hours of Internet search. And the posts from these Officers are from Countless Training and Practice hours, backed up by Ions of real life use.


I'm sorry, you're right... Fight it. ;)

And no Offense taken, good luck... and bring cash

[samseed101]

No offense guys, but you all missed the point. I simply asked the duration from the time the gun is pressed the the time it is registered. Moreover, if two cars are side by side as you say, there is absolutely not way of telling which car was read by the radar gun. Simply by saying that the officer can tell because they are side by side is obsurd. A radar gun can only read one object at a time; therefore, if two cars are side by side, only one of the objects will be read at a time dismissing any other thought. I do, however, believe that there is a small time between the time the gun is first initiated to the time it is read. The officer must first estimate a speed the car is going and then initiate the radar of the gun. This time is substantial, and the officer likely obtained the speed of one car, and then guessed the speed of another car traveling along side of it. Therefore, if the gun only read one speed which is likely had, the case it dismissed. A radar gun can only produce one reading of a single object at a time. The end.

Okay, let's try something here. Lets say you are driving down the highway at 65. You look to your left and you see another car right beside you. He is not passing you and you are not passing him. instead, he is right beside you. How fast is that car going? You don't think you would know the car's speed even if you weren't looking at his speedometer? But forget about that, lets get to the part where you are GREATLY mistaken / misinformed:

Therefore, if the gun only read one speed which is likely had, the case it dismissed.

Please show me where it says an officer has to have your speed on radar in order to issue you a speeding ticket? Matter of fact, you said yourself that you were "clocked". Being clocked is not the same as having your speed identified via radar.

If the cop sees one guy going 88, and sees another car either keeping up with it, or passing it, anyone with a shread of intelligence will KNOW that the other car had to be doing at least 88 as well. Common sense. You lose.

[samseed101]

But here's the real question. You talk about how there was no way he would be able to know how fast you are going. (You are 100% wrong and apparently ignorant, but let's not get into that.) But nowhere do you say that you were not speeding. You simply appear to be attempting to find some pathetic loophole to keep from paying the ticket. Were you speeding or no? That's the real question. If you were, then why don't you act like a mature adult and face the consequences of your actions?

[tpd_six]

No offense guys, but you all missed the point. I simply asked the duration from the time the gun is pressed the the time it is registered. Moreover, if two cars are side by side as you say, there is absolutely not way of telling which car was read by the radar gun. Simply by saying that the officer can tell because they are side by side is obsurd. A radar gun can only read one object at a time; therefore, if two cars are side by side, only one of the objects will be read at a time dismissing any other thought. I do, however, believe that there is a small time between the time the gun is first initiated to the time it is read. The officer must first estimate a speed the car is going and then initiate the radar of the gun. This time is substantial, and the officer likely obtained the speed of one car, and then guessed the speed of another car traveling along side of it. Therefore, if the gun only read one speed which is likely had, the case it dismissed. A radar gun can only produce one reading of a single object at a time. The end.

I don't know what else to say, either you are cunfused or don't understand the posts, because what you just said had been disputed by several officers here, and it's fairly easy to understand once you have used a radar unit for a while.

The radar reading is nearly instant from hitting the switch. Two different speeds WILL both be picked up by the beam, and will both show on the display. An officer would have no problem seeing which vehicle is going which speed, the faster vehicle was going the faster speed displayed. No, two speeds aren't going to show at the exact same time on a single readout display, but both speeds will likely be displayed within a very short time period, usually a second or two.

The audio assists in determining your target identification, so if the officer is watching two cars, sees one speed on his display at say 60, and hears a higher audio tone start to come in than that one which was displayed as a faster vehicle is approaching, he knows the slower vehicle is doing 60, the faster vehicle is doing at least that, and will likely register that speed as well. At a distance, it is even easier to tell which vehicle is faster when the cars are side by side. In addition, he has his visual estimate of both vehicles' speeds, which is also very quick to determine. If it was a Lidar unit, it is even easier than that as only one vehicle is in the beam at a time.

I have yet to have my radar lock onto only one vehicle and stay there where there are two vehicles doing different speeds. If the officer was in the slightest doubt of your speed, he wouldn't have written the ticket. I'd rather let 20 speeders go than write someone who wasn't speeding.

I would not go into court and argue the point you brought up, but you're welcome to try. :rolleyes:

[txinvestigator1]

No offense guys, but you all missed the point. I simply asked the duration from the time the gun is pressed the the time it is registered. Moreover, if two cars are side by side as you say, there is absolutely not way of telling which car was read by the radar gun. Simply by saying that the officer can tell because they are side by side is obsurd. A radar gun can only read one object at a time; therefore, if two cars are side by side, only one of the objects will be read at a time dismissing any other thought. I do, however, believe that there is a small time between the time the gun is first initiated to the time it is read. The officer must first estimate a speed the car is going and then initiate the radar of the gun. This time is substantial, and the officer likely obtained the speed of one car, and then guessed the speed of another car traveling along side of it. Therefore, if the gun only read one speed which is likely had, the case it dismissed. A radar gun can only produce one reading of a single object at a time. The end.

Since you are a radar expert, you should already know the answer to the question; therefore, you are here to troll.

Or maybe you don't know what you are talking about....RADAR can "read" multiple targets. It depends on the processor and display capabilities of the unit. The RADAR in an F14 Tomcat is the exact same as that in Police Radar. The difference is the processor in the Tomcat can process, track and display over 20 targets at once.

Believe me when I tell you that it is entirely possible for an officer to target and track 2 vehicles. Its pretty easy actually.

Either listen to the advice here or go fight your ticket. Why come and ask for help if you are just going to argue with that help?