Vipers and Laser Guns

[slaughterj]

Anyone ever been ticketed by a laser gun?

Here's a link with discussion on some sites about the latest laser jammer technology: http://www.s2000online.com/forums/showthread.php?s=1110775709348573cc74b95ac 0b278f3&threadid=18545

Sounds like the Blinder M-10 might be effective, but I was also wondering if anyone had been hit by a laser gun from directions other than in front (though I understand from the side wouldn't be effective due to the angles involved)?

 

[RECOIL]

Isn't that interesting? White is the color not to have when you want to guard against laser.

They said a black TA without a license plate was almost impossible to clock with laser.

Cool.

Steve
Black/Silver

 

[JonB]

I have ben 'splashed' by reflected, stray laser light aimed at cars up to 3 MILES agead of me. My Valentine One saved me with the early alerts. I have white STRIPES and no front plate.

I was stopped by a state trooper in 1997 who actually let ME laser oncoming traffic and my own GTS with his shoulder gunstock laser gun ! You are an Easy "sitting duck" once in the laser sights, esp with white / reflective cars with big, bold, modern headlights. Headlights that conceal really stop the bounceback. Splash will alert you to SLOW DOWN QWIK if you get an alarm.

That was one cool-dude cop....my fiancee was incredulous that the cop wanted to chat, and let me "shoot" traffic with his lazer. "Do you make friends with EVERYONE?" she said when I finally got back?. "The Car Is The Star"

 

[Tom Friend]

Reflective surfaces are the key item here. The primary target for a lidar hit is your front license plate. (yet another good reason for not having one...)

If the officer is not able to get a hit off that within a second or so, he will then try to paint your headlights, as they are the second most reflective surface on the front of your car. A Diablo with fog light covers has a great advantage, obviously. Since Vipers do not have retracts, you must turn up the "noise" by leaving on your headlights & driving lights. The IR spectrum produced by your headlights will help somewhat to mask the return signal.

If no stable reading is given within a second, then Officer Donut will try to paint chrome bumpers, turn signals, etc. Of course the snake does not have much to offer there- especially my solid black GTS.

For asthetic reasons (and cooling and aero...) I do not have a front plate. For safety reasons ~ahem~, I always leave my headlights & driving lights on. I also have a smoked cover over my rear plate, because it is a show car, and this looks cool. Uh huh. You could also put some window tint film over your tail lights to reduce lidar return.

Of course, none of this will make your Viper invisible- it just gives you another second or so to slow down. That can mean the difference between a cheap ticket & an expensive one, depending upon your driving habits. If you have JonB's gift of gab you might get out of it all together.

 

[wiseasp]

I also read that if you spray your front tag, with clear spray paint, about 10 to 15 times it will reduce the chance of the laser picking up the tag because it takes away its reflective properties.

I don't like to gamble much so I just keep the front tag off and just pay for the inspection ticket.

 

[Gerald]

hmmm, so if I paint my car with 15 coats of paint will that help?

)

Seriously, I would LOVE to find out if ANYBODY has any info on a radar / laser jammer that REALLY works...?


Gerald

 

[Jack B]

I have been shot at by the same traffic car twice while going 85 in a 55. Both times as I passed him he had a strange look as though he was wondering why I wasn't registering.

I have a red RT10 without a front plate. In addition, I was out four lanes from where he was shooting. The profile must be hard to print on his gun.

Everyone should remember that both radar and laser only post the vector speed. If he is shooting across a road and you are close the angle formed is sufficient enough to lower your perceived speed.

Your true speed is the hypotenuse of the triangle. The radar or laser will read your true speed times the cosine of the angle away from head-on. Your speed will always appear slower in the lane furthest away from the gun.

 

[phiebert]

I'm not arguing with Tom on this but I don't think keeping headlights on will make a difference on the reflection of the laser. They are pretty far apart on the light spectrum and I don't think the laser guns would consider white headlamp light as noise. They'd probably be more sensitive to the reflection of actual sunlight off of chrome parts because that would have a broader spectrum.

That being said, I agree with the approaches to making the cop seek out different parts of the car to target because evey split second does count, especially if he is spraying while seeking and you pick it up and slow down.

 

[slaughterj]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Gerald:
Seriously, I would LOVE to find out if ANYBODY has any info on a radar / laser jammer that REALLY works...?
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Hey, did you take a look at the Blinder M-10 info linked from the site above?

If anyone tries this out, let us know!

 

[Tom Friend]

Keep in mind that at the typical distance of lidar traps, 1/4 to 1/2 mile,the size of the beem hitting your car could be up to 24 inches in diameter, so a lot of waving around by the officer will not be needed. The extra time you get should be put to good use- hard braking. Lidar measures distance over time changes- not velocity. The difference is subtle, and of course the cosine error JackB mentioned does come into play. This brings an additional problem of measurement repeatability into play- and that is why these systems average reading over hundreds of pulses, in hope of getting a more accurate reading.

Will headlights make a difference? Yes, though how much depends upon many factors- like headlight type, ambient light, water vapor (rain spray). Most lidar operates in the 904nm range, and halogen headlight do emit some light in that range. If the officer is standing outside the light cone of your headlights, it makes little difference if your headlights are on. Of course, if he is in that position, he is getting a minimal return from your headlight optics. The reason headlights work is that they raise the noise level making it harder to discriminate the return pulses.

IR jammers send pulses- maximum power is sent that way. The hope is that these pulses will screw up the averaging algorithm, giving you thet time needed to slow down. I have heard mixed results for these.

From what I understand, lidar has not yet received judial notice anywhere in the US, so that makes it easier for your attorney to get your ticket dismissed.