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From: stern@inmet.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.auto
Subject: Re: Radar Surveillance
Message-ID: <57500005@inmet.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 9-Aug-85 16:31:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: inmet.57500005
Posted: Fri Aug  9 16:31:00 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 12-Aug-85 23:37:12 EDT
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Nf-ID: #R:allegra:-489100:inmet:57500005:000:1971
Nf-From: inmet!stern    Aug  9 16:31:00 1985


[]
I object to simple "one spring" radar traps, where a police patrol car
sits hidden in the bushes, or parked illegally on a side street, and
catches the "first" car that zips by exceeding the speed limit.

What bothers me about them is that they are much too arbitrary.  If
you are going to catch speeders, then set up a "spotter-catcher" trap
where one car sits with the radar gun, and another one, a little down
the road, pulls people over who are speeding.  This tends to be a bit
more equitable.

As an example: I was driving down I-91 toward Springfield, MA and
saw a cop standing on the side of the road, looking like a hitchhiker.
He had a hand-held X-band radar gun, and was picking off Sunday drivers
like crazy.  His five buddies 1 mile around the bend had 12 (yes, one
dozen) people pulled over and were handing out tickets like popcorn.
I have to admit I'm not crazy about speed traps, but at least it seemed
like everyone got stuck.

As a second example: I was cruising along a quiet side street in 
Freehold, NJ.  One of the area's finest pulled me over for doing 
43 MPH in a 25 MPH zone.  (Point here: it *used* to be a 45 zone, and
the people who live there complained.  Problem was, some wise guys
removed the 25 MPH signs, and those of us who had just returned from
school had no idea the speed limit changed.  I fought the ticekt and
had it reduced to 26 in a 25 zone).  Before the cop got me, though,
he let a few other speeding cars go by.  I got nabbed because I was
driving the sportiest car, or because I was the youngest, or because
I was lucky enough to be at the end of the line of cars.  I couldn't
have been going faster than them or I would have rear-ended someone.
It was a little too selective to make me believe that justice had been
served.

Flames, comments, replies and other such fun material by electronic
mail - please!  No more flames in public......

--Hal Stern
  Intermetrics, Inc.
  {harpo, ulysses, ima, ihnp4}!inmet!stern