Police laser speed guns - can they take photos?

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Reply # 160477 28-Aug-2008 15:11

andysh: Also isn't it 10% ontop of the speed limit when tickets start coming?

A threshold of intolerance has been set at speeds in excess of 10kmh above the speed limit. That translates to 111kmh+ on the open road and 61kmh+ in most urban settings. I understand the tolerance to be zero around schools/school buses.

In reality you could be ticketed for travelling at just 1kmh over the speed limit, but that's fairly unlikely to happen.

The whole detector/jammer issues always amuses me. What a waste of money - don't speed.

coffeebaron

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Reply # 160478 28-Aug-2008 15:18

Dratsab: The whole detector/jammer issues always amuses me. What a waste of money - don't speed.

The whole road safety debate will never be won, and yes it amuses me too. I like to focus on driving, rather than watching the speedo, and yes I do own a speed tax avoidance device (aka radar detector).
I find some of the road safety ads amusing too:
"Drive to the conditions and if they change, reduce your speed" Umm, so I'm driving along in the pouring rain, the sun comes out, the roads dry up, so now I'm suppose to slow down??

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Dratsab

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Reply # 160482 28-Aug-2008 15:29

coffeebaron: I find some of the road safety ads amusing too "Drive to the conditions and if they change, reduce your speed" Umm, so I'm driving along in the pouring rain, the sun comes out, the roads dry up, so now I'm suppose to slow down??

LMAO - I had exactly the same thoughts about that one. They should have had a bit more of a think about what they were saying...

But I know what you mean about not wanting to glance at the speedo regularly, it's a pain. I'll be getting a new (to me) car when I settle back into NZ life and it'll have cruise control which will help in some circumstances.

kiwitrc

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Reply # 160484 28-Aug-2008 15:34

coffeebaron:
Technically a radar jammer is not actually illegal either, it's just that you need to seek permission of the license holder to transmit on that frequency - hmmm, somehow though I don't think the Police will say yes you can transmit on our radar frequency :(

Actually I dont think the Police actually have sole rights to the frequencies they use, I cant remember the exact terminology but it is something like, they can use it but so can anyone else, or something like that. Maybe someone from MED Radio Section can clarify for interest sake. The biggy though is finding a device that actually works. There was one years ago, the Phantom or suchlike that was tested in NZ and according to the car mag did work.

andysh

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Reply # 160538 28-Aug-2008 20:44

Isn't there some sort of radar jammer that like captures the signal from the copper, then "scrambles" it and sends it back? Apparently it spose to be legal, and because of that I don't think it would work.. ha

heavenlywild

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Reply # 160540 28-Aug-2008 20:50

Best policy is - don't speed and stay alert.

No matter how cheesy the safety ads are or how silly the signs can look (as in, "drive to the conditions" as mentioned above), speed does kill.

Dratsab

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Reply # 160547 28-Aug-2008 20:57

andysh: Isn't there some sort of radar jammer that like captures the signal from the copper, then "scrambles" it and sends it back? Apparently it spose to be legal, and because of that I don't think it would work.. ha

I'd say that, technically, a device like this would be tampering with approved surveillance equipment, which would render it illegal.

[Edit] Added link to legislation.

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Reply # 160549 28-Aug-2008 21:00

heavenly_wild: Best policy is - don't speed and stay alert.

No matter how cheesy the safety ads are or how silly the signs can look (as in, "drive to the conditions" as mentioned above), speed does kill.

If people drove with more skill, then there would be less accidents. Speed does not actually kill, its having a crash that kills. Speed just makes the consequence more severe; so better to work on avoiding a crash in the first place. The crack down on speed is really more a cheap solution to minimising injury & fatalities. It does not actually solve the root cause, i.e. why the crash happened in the first place.
Oh, and before I get to many flames; for those who are on the side of don't speed - that's fine, as I feel both sides of the argument are valid.

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BobW

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Reply # 160561 28-Aug-2008 21:19

coffeebaron: Speed just makes the consequence more severe

Speed greatly increases the chances of having a crash, in addition to making the consequences more severe.

andysh

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Reply # 160562 28-Aug-2008 21:21

Yea I'm not the one to speed, I have lernt (a little) lesson with a fine, but from then I do not (try to) speed. But as coffeebaron said, speed is not the root cause of the crash. I agree with this, but is more the driver being aware and alert of the whole situation and knowing what a car is capable of. Yes speed does add to this whole situation, and is a one of those main causes that make the crash a whole lot worse.

So I think the stance that the police take with trying to reduce speed is the correct one, there is not much else they can do really. It is very hard to implent new driver training as there are already a lot of driver out there. And it gotta be one of the cheapest ways to try and cut down the death toll of the road

andysh

BobW

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Reply # 160566 28-Aug-2008 21:40

There is lots of research directly identifying speed as a cause of crashes. For example, the study discussed at http://casr.adelaide.edu.au/speed/discuss.html includes the following table:

Comparing Relative Risks of Involvement
in a Casualty Crash for Speed and Alcohol

Speed (km/h)	Speed Rel. Risk	Alcohol (g/100mL)	Alcohol Rel. Risk
60	1.0	zero	1.0
65	2.0	0.05	1.8
70	4.2	0.08	3.2
75	10.6	0.12	7.1
80	31.8	0.21	30.4

Based on a 60 km/h urban zone, this table says that travelling at 80 km/h increases the risk of an injury accident by more than 30 times. For comparison, the NZ legal alcohol limit for drivers over 20 is 0.08 g/100ml, which in this table increases the risk of a crash by a relatively small 3.2 times.

boby55

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Reply # 160568 28-Aug-2008 21:42

Laser jammers are like radar detectors . Not illegal to have on your car, Just Illegal to use on public roads

coffeebaron

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Reply # 160716 29-Aug-2008 13:19

BobW: There is lots of research directly identifying speed as a cause of crashes. For example, the study discussed at http://casr.adelaide.edu.au/speed/discuss.html includes the following table:

Comparing Relative Risks of Involvement
in a Casualty Crash for Speed and Alcohol
Speed
(km/h) Speed
Rel. Risk Alcohol
(g/100mL) Alcohol
Rel. Risk
60 1.0 zero 1.0
65 2.0 0.05 1.8
70 4.2 0.08 3.2
75 10.6 0.12 7.1
80 31.8 0.21 30.4

Based on a 60 km/h urban zone, this table says that travelling at 80 km/h increases the risk of an injury accident by more than 30 times. For comparison, the NZ legal alcohol limit for drivers over 20 is 0.08 g/100ml, which in this table increases the risk of a crash by a relatively small 3.2 times.

This talks about reaction & stopping distance & severity etc. What is does not address though is:
Why did the driver have to brake??

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Dratsab

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Reply # 160732 29-Aug-2008 14:54

BobW: For comparison, the NZ legal alcohol limit for drivers over 20 is 0.08 g/100ml

Just for clarity, this a blood/alcohol level.

coffeebaron: This talks about reaction & stopping distance & severity etc. What is does not address though is: Why did the driver have to brake??

Is that actually relevant? The fact of the matter is, the drivers had to brake for one reason or another.

My, what a wide ranging thread this has turned out to be...

kiwitrc

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Reply # 160733 29-Aug-2008 14:58

Folks, no one is going to win this debate. No one will change their point of view so debate IMHO is pointless. There are those of us who think one side of this debate is correct and the those who are wrong

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