Detecting Tailgaters With Lasers

Posted by kdawson on Monday December 4, 2006 @10:18AM from the don't-stand-so-close-to-me dept.

stoolpigeon writes "Police in Arizona are using laser range finders to detect and ticket tailgaters. An officer can now measure not only the speed of passing vehicles but also how close they are to one another. The detectors described in the article are built by Laser Technology Inc., a company that provides lasers for traffic control, engineering, and even tactical/military solutions. The article mentions how tailgating is connected to many accidents and incidents of road rage; this observation fits my experience."

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Re:California rules by serbanp · 2006-12-04 11:19 · Score: 5, Informative

I guess you're a little slow [sic]... Your math is very good if you're doing 50mph at 5ft from a freaking wall. Then it's good for the genetic pool to slam into it, you deserved that.

In the real life, though, the car in front of you moves at the same speed as you. Since they can't decelerate in zero time, the math to compute the allowed reaction time is a little more complex.