Zapped by laser?

BBC program "Inside Out" tonight will air results of tests of
one of the most popular laser speed detection guns used by police
forces in the US and UK. In the program, a pair of American
specification LTI 20-20 guns, manufactured by Laser Technology
Inc. of Colorado, point at the same moving vehicle but record
substantially different speeds.

The source of the error is well-known. When the aiming point of
the laser gun, which is designed to be hand-held, moves or "slips"
across the target vehicle, an extra distance is either added to or
subtracted from the speed calculation. A tiny movement can add up
to a substantial difference. Engineering Professor John Brignell
describes the amount of motion needed to cause a slip error at a
distance of 500 meters: "Very roughly, without doing any
calculations, we are talking about the camera moving about the
thickness of a human hair."


The hosts of the BBC program were able to clock a stationary car
at 6 MPH. In tests of a moving vehicle, the laser gun produced
erroneous readings almost a third of the time, displaying speeds
that were off by as much as 26 MPH.


The devices can be upgraded and used as mobile speed cameras,
particularly in the UK where an estimated five million drivers
have been convicted based on laser speed readings over the past
five years.


"I am 100 percent certain that these devices are not suitable for
gathering legal evidence of vehicle speeds," said Paul Smith,
founder of the Safe Speed road safety campaign. "They make
mistakes and the BBC film proves it. Millions of drivers will be
entitled to refunds, licence points removed and in some cases a
large amount of compensation."