While we can't say we're exactly fond of
notorious tailgaters ourselves, we won't be the first to agree that
fines in "the hundreds of dollars" are exactly fitting for those who like follow closely. Nevertheless, the Arizona Department of Public Safety is taking a note from Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, and Oregon by implementing a radar-based tracking system to calculate just how far back a car is from another while cruising on the freeway. Laser Technology's Lidar (no known connection to Liger) works essentially like a speed gun, except it boasts a higher level of accuracy and the ability to calculate the distance between passing cars down to the tenth of a second. Arizona cops are reportedly loving the new machine, as it's "basically impossible" to argue with, and supposedly "educates the people who get pulled" because of it. So if you get a thrill from seeing just how close you can come to kissing that bumper ahead of you, or you just get a testosterone rush every time you get behind the wheel, you may want to put a few seconds (at least) between you and your closest roadmate when rolling through
AZ.
[Via
Slashdot]
posted December 5th 2006 11:45AM
It would be nice to think they are going to pull over tailgaters with this gadget.
But they won't be. They will simply be using it to ticket speeders, like they do with every other type of radar/speed detector.
Yes it would be nice if the Highway patrols used their authority to actually make the highways safter, instead of just racking up the speeding tickets to pad their budgets.
It would be nice if they pulled over tailgaters, improper signallers, dangerous lane-changers, passing-lane blockers, and distracted cell-phone talkers/etc.... But you know they won't. There's no money in it.
Last thing I will say, despite what you've heard, speed doesn't cause accidents. DIFFERENCES in speed is what causes accidents. So that guy going 60 when everyone else is doing 75 is just as "dangerous" as the guy going 90mph... I don't tailgate because it's dangerous. Yet I'm constantly being blocked by slower drivers in the fast lane. I don't even drive that fast, maybe 75-80 if traffic is light. These people are actually making it more dangerous by blocking traffic, requiring people to change lanes to pass them, and etc...
Is it me or are you invoking Newton here? Well, if differences in speed are what matters, what about the difference in speed between you at 90 MPH and all of the things clamped to this earth, at 90 MPH relative to you? Going faster IS more dangerous, unless you can somehow make the whole ground around you move in the same direction as you are.
I believe there is an enormous difference in traffic flow when drivers are courteous with regards to usage of the left lane. Much of my life I lived the Appleton/Green Bay, WI area. Highway 41 is the main conduit if you want to go anywhere north or south, and save for some spots in Appleton, it is mostly two lanes in either direction. It flows pretty past and very consistently, rarely are there jamups or even accidents (at least I think so). I've noticed that people traveling that stretch, unless they have out of state plates, move over to the right when not passing, allowing those who wish to go faster to do.
Living now in the Shakopee area, a suburb of Minneapolis, the stretch of Highway 169 is dreadful. The lanes are the same as in WI, 2 lanes either direction aside from a couple spots. No one gets out of the left lane, even if they are going 10 mph below the speed limit. In the month that I've lived here, there have been 3 accidents, making my commute about 45 minutes longer over a 4 mile stretch of highway. I realize the population differences between an area like Minneapolis and Appleton, but this suburb is not that large, in fact, it is about 1/4 the size of Appleton.
These are just my observations, but from my point of view, a person who usually travels over 30,000 miles per year too, the courteous attitude of Appleton/Green Bay highway drivers makes a huge difference. I believe that goes to show that just because you can drive the way you personally want in the left/passing lane doesn't necessarily mean you should.
yup, the jammer sends back laser pulses to wash out the laser from the gun I believe.
Yep. There is a laser detector, and either a special light tuned to the laser frequency or maybe another laser to shoot back at the LIDAR and confuse it.
Supposedly just driving with the high beams on lowers the effective range of LIDAR dramatically. When I had a long highway commute, I used to drive that way during the day. I have no idea if I was ever in a LIDAR trap (my Valentine One didn't do laser).
testing testing
I see it as one more sign of Big Brother creeping into our lives. The government is monitoring one more aspect of behavior because the technology allows them to do so. Wait until your car's OBD system and engine management system is tied to GPS and digitally transmitted speed limits. Speeding and tailgating will be gone but so will freedom to control your vehicle. I work in the auto industry and you'd all be horrified if you knew what was being planned by politicians, technocrats, and engineers. Tailgating tickets are the least of the worries.
Christopher P TOdd, you are a pussy.
2 wrongs don't make a right. You don't earn the ability to tailgate (a highly dangerous activity) simply because people are going too slowly.
I'm all for fining these malicious, impatient idiots to the hilt. Of course, that would be almost my wife's entire family...
In Memphis nobody uses their turn signals, everyone tailgates regardless of sides, and worst of all, everyone slows down to 10mph below the speed limit whenever there's an accident that's already been diverted to the side of the road half an hour ago. Meanwhile, cops are driving 20miles over the speed limit, frequently cut drivers off and run red lights. They don't use turn signals either. Traffic laws need to be enforced, but they should also be making driver's ed mandatory, even if it means subsidizing class fees.