8/17/2009

According to some of the armchair experts who frequent Internet forums, the traffic cops have unleashed a new terror weapon that has rendered a radar detector all but useless. In frenzied posts on that bastion of civilized, rational discourse, Radardetector.net, anxious members fret over the proliferation of what they call Quick Trigger or Instant-On (I/O). This new scourge is even more lethal than POP mode, they warn.

7/8/2009

To justify saturating the state with speed cameras, minions from the State of Arizona have endlessly echoed the mantra of the speed-camera lobby: 1) Most accidents are speed-related, 2) Speed cameras slow traffic and 3) Slower traffic means fewer accidents. For the sake of argument let's momentarily suspend disbelief and say they're at least partially right. Credible statistics on accidents near camera locations won't be available for some time yet but now that scores of speed cameras and a fleet of 100 photo radar vans have been deployed, it certainly isn't difficult to measure the cameras' effect on freeway speeds. Over a period of weeks this spring I conducted traffic surveys near speed vans and fixed cameras in several locations around the metropolitan Phoenix area. I did the same in Mesa, Prescott Valley and Star Valley, Arizona. To create before/after speeds, I first measured speeds one half mile before the camera, then at the same distance after the camera. Interestingly, the numbers from every site were nearly identical. In this composite chart of representative results from four of the freeway locations, it can be seen that far from slowing traffic, the cameras have no effect whatever on freeway speeds. In fact, at some locations the numbers show the cameras increased average speeds. Okay, the small increases are statistically insignificant. But the numbers are clear: speed cameras do not decrease highway speeds. The survey numbers also show the fallacy of the state's claim that cameras are needed to battle widespread speeding on Arizona freeways. The average speed on Loop 101 was an even 65 mph; on Loop 202 it was 67.5 mph. Significantly, the 85th percentile speed on Loop 101 was 70 mph; on Loop 202 it was 71 mph. On Scottsdale's portion of Loop 101 where the SEP trial project cameras were located, it was 73.4 mph. The 85th percentile speed means that 85 percent of all drivers were traveling at or below that speed. A cornerstone of ITE guidelines for half a century has been that speed limits should be set as close as possible to the 85th percentile. My traffic surveys show that if the limit were correctly set at 70 mph, there would be hardly any violations for the cameras to record. (Had the speed limit on Scottsdale's section of Loop 101 been correctly set at 75 mph, it likewise would have witnessed virtually no violations.) This begs the questions: If speeding isn't a problem and speed cameras have zero influence on speeds anyway, what are the cameras for?

12/1/2008

In an event with national significance, Arizona recently became the first state to saturate a major national transportation corridor with photo enforcement cameras, a.k.a speed cameras. Anyone driving to or from Southern California on I-10 now must run a gauntlet of 15 fixed cameras along the freeway in metro Phoenix. In addition, much of the Arizona Department of Public Safety fleet of 40 photo radar vans is artfully deployed along the same route. Arizona is ground zero for photo enforcement, the first in the nation to use it and headquarters for the two companies that dominate the U.S. photo enforcement market, Redflex Traffic Systems and American Traffic Solutions. It's also the first state to launch a well-orchestrated government campaign to spread cameras to every corner of the state.

2/7/2007

At the November 2006 press introduction of their 2007-model pickups, based on the new GMT900 platform (Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra), GM was keen to emphasize their supremacy in fuel mileage. In a handout with comparison graphs listing “EPA Unadjusted Combined MPG� for 2WD models, the 5.3-liter GM V-8 was credited with 21.6 mpg. Next best was the 2006 Toyota Tundra 4.7-liter with 19.9 mpg, with the 2006 Dodge Ram 5.7-liter narrowly trailing at 19.5 mpg. Bringing up the rear were the 2006 Ford F150 5.4-liter (18.9 mpg) and 2006 Nissan Titan 5.6-liter (18.5 mpg).

12/24/2006

At the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show Cobra Electronics introduced a line of new radar detectors which, among other things, claim to “provide expanded protection capabilities to warn against even the fastest radar and laser guns on the market, including the new Ku band,� according to their press release.

Ku band? Cobra's announcement had the competition scratching their heads. Nobody else in the industry was aware of the arrival of a fourth radar band (frequency).

7/20/2006

Judging from all the Internet chatter, it would appear that police have unleashed a new doomsday weapon: a super-radar that can sneak up from behind and blast you without warning. The only defense, say these breathless missives, is a radar detector that incorporates a rearward-facing antenna. Like any good rumor this one contains just enough truth to lend it some credibility. But there's a lot more to the story.

6/20/2005

Not to worry you, as if you haven't already lost enough sleep fretting over the proliferation of radar, but there's some retro-hardware that's of continuing concern for motorists. Like an aging matinee idol rescued from obscurity, a speed-measuring device from the Sixties has been freshened up and distributed with quiet efficiency among traffic police nationwide.

11/27/2004

RLCs are definitely a growth market. Ten years ago you couldn't find one in the States. Today there are hundreds of them in nearly 80 cities and towns across the country.

6/1/2004

Judging from dire pronouncements issued by the Chicken Little contingent, the arrival of POP-mode radar poses a huge threat to speeders. Introduced by MPH Industries on their BEE III moving radar late in 2000, this feature allows the radar to transmit in bursts too brief for detectors to hear it.

1/1/2004

Ever wonder what goes on back in the installation bay when they add electronic gear to your car?

6/25/2002

Seven years after first appearing in this country‚ by 1997 a second generation of speed lidars—more commonly dubbed lasers—had arrived. Lighter, smaller‚ less expensive and more wieldly than their older brothers, the new hardware promised simplified operation and greater versatility.

1/15/2002

Credit the Dutch for producing what's proved to be a major headache for speeders: photo radar, also known as the speed camera. The Gatsometer, named after its Dutch inventor, Maurice Gatsonides, has become the world's most popular automated enforcement tool, outselling its rivals by a wide margin. Unlike conventional traffic radar, its low-powered K-band beam is angled across the roadway, making it exceptionally difficult to detect. But hardly impossible.

See how speed measuring technology-radar, lasers, time/distance computers--works in the real world.